
Ask HN: How do you manage Facebook/Whats App/Twitter/Email/Etc addiction? - pedrodelfino
In Hacker News we have the &quot;no procrast&quot; mode.
Nonetheless, that&#x27;s not a common function in social media or email apps.<p>I have been using Rescue Time (to track my activities) and StayFocusd Extension (yes, &quot;focusd&quot; without the &quot;e&quot; and it basically blocks the access to a determined site after some time).<p>Rescue Time and Stay Focusd have been useful on my desktop. But in mobile (I have an Iphone) I am lost.<p>Especially, concerning to Whats app, I definitely use it more than I should.<p>Does anybody have this problem? How do you manage it?
======
scotch_drinker
I'm embarking on a Slow Information Diet modeled after Tim Ferris' Slow Carb
Diet. Six days a week, no Twitter, no Facebook, etc. On cheat day (for me, my
slow carb diet cheat day and slow information diet cheat days are the same,
Friday) I get to read and consume and binge all I want. Because Slow Carb
really resonates we me, this concept does to and has worked out well. YMMV of
course.

~~~
randycupertino
Did you make up the Slow Information Diet yourself, or did you read about it
somewhere? I want to emulate it so was curious if there was more written up
about it somewhere. Thanks!

~~~
floppydisk
Tim Ferriss discussed the idea in the Four-Hour Workweek and on his blog here
[1]

[1]. [http://fourhourworkweek.com/category/low-information-diet-
an...](http://fourhourworkweek.com/category/low-information-diet-and-
selective-ignorance/)

------
CrackpotGonzo
Honestly, the easiest way for me is to just use a "dumb" phone. I switched to
an old Nokia and love it. I also use the SMS search engine Text Engine
([http://www.textengine.info/](http://www.textengine.info/)) if I ever need to
look up an address or directions. I definitely feel more productive, and most
importantly present in my daily life.

Curious to hear if others have had success with other methods or if anyone
else has tried going back to a non-smartphone.

Great question.

~~~
randycupertino
Do you miss being able to use the phone for distraction, say for example when
stuck in line at the bank? That is why I'm always sneaking a peak at twitter
or facebook.

Also as lame as it is, I worry about not keeping up with the Joneses on social
media and being seen as irrelevant because I don't have an online "presence."
I applied for a job via HN a few weeks ago that wanted links to my facebook
and twitter accounts. I ended up withdrawing my application because that
seemed frivolous and nosy. But it did give me pause to consider my "online
brand" and whether or not it was professional, and if I should work on keeping
that up.

~~~
eecks
Can you name and shame the company that wanted your Facebook and Twitter
account? That's absurd.

------
xythian
I turn off all phone notifications. My information consumption is pull only,
no push. Once you no longer the little 'reminders' the urge starts to subside
and becomes more manageable and less distracting.

------
sneakycr0w
I used to have a problem logging onto Facebook, Twitter, and other social
medias every few minutes. Even while I was at work. It was really bad. Every
time I had a spare second that's immediately where I went.

What I learned in one of my courses where we talked about addictions, is that
people with addictive personalities tend to replace one addiction with
another. Now, saying this doesn't present it as a positive thing, but it can
be.

I started by completely taking these socials medias out of my life for a whole
entire month, strictly. I didn't get on a single time to any of them once. And
I replaced the addictions with something else. At first I thought maybe games
would be good, but it was hard to get on my phone without going to these
sites. So what I did is I replaced them with reading. I would take 2 minutes
to read a couple pages, read on my ten minute breaks, read on my lunches, etc.

You don't have to do that, although I recommend it, but I would try to replace
it with something that didn't have access to it, and then you'll have more
control over it.

~~~
SyneRyder
This is a really good point. I've deactivated my Facebook account (going on 4
months, feeling much happier without it) and one of the "addictions" I've
replaced it with is Duolingo. If I know I'm going to be addicted to some kind
of distraction, learning a language (of a country I hope to move to one day)
makes it a much more positive thing in my life.

------
igetspam
Of the items listed, I only use email. Call me a Luddite but all of those
other things are just unnecessary distractions. I find that my life is much
more focused when I control the funnel of noise. I have an RSS reader for news
and email or a phone for communication. All these other potential streams of
data are like road signs or commercials: I know they're there but I've made
such an effort to ignore them that they just don't register.

Try this:

$ cat /etc/hosts|grep face 127.0.0.1 facebook.com 127.0.0.1 www.facebook.com

~~~
WizzleKake
you can just:

$ grep face /etc/hosts

~~~
jajern
I don't see the point either way. Maybe they mean `echo '127.0.0.1
facebook.com www.facebook.com' >> /etc/hosts`?

~~~
zem
it's declarative programming! you say what result you want and let the machine
figure out how to get there.

------
Reedx
Just don't use them. Really. The addiction will go away or at least decrease
after a couple days or so.

I'm really only addicted to HN these days, but I solve it by not going to HN
at all when I need to be in Get Shit Done mode. After a day or two I don't
find myself thinking about it that much.

~~~
unfocused828
If you find that this is actually not your experience and you find that you
are addicted/distracted for an extended period of time, know that you are not
alone.

------
elorant
Simple. I don't have an account on Facebook/Twitter/whatever. While others
might find it necessary I find them utterly boring and irrelevant. I think
that not owning a smartphone helps a lot in that aspect. I have a dumbphone
with a battery that lasts for weeks and I'm happy with my choice. As for
e-mail, I have two accounts, one for work, one for everyone else. I don't
check the latter while at work, ever.

~~~
CrackpotGonzo
What kid of phone do you own?

~~~
elorant
I have a Samsung E-2600. Brilliant phone. The battery lasts for at least two
weeks with moderate use and also it's light and compact. I have to admit,
every time I see someone pulling out a behemoth with an 5.5" screen to talk
puts a smirk on my face. The model is currently obsolete so I guess anyone
interested will go for the next in line.

~~~
CrackpotGonzo
That's awesome. I had a similar one back in the day. Yeah, the phablet trend
is a bit silly, but I guess to each his own, right? What would your ideal
feature phone be if you could redesign it?

~~~
elorant
I consider the one I own as ideal, so I guess I'd go for that or the next in
line, which is probably a Samsung C3750. My needs are quite basic. It has to
be light and compact with long battery life and that's all :)

------
myc132
I found when I was very addicted to facebook that if you turn off all mobile
notifications and don't have it pull for updates, since I wasn't getting any
notifications I wasn't checking as often. This eventually led me to be okay
with not opening the app to check something and then lingering on for a while
looking at the same thing over and over again. That's how I was able to become
facebook-free. It's very similar to other addictions, if you see less things
that remind you of it, it'll help you in the long run

~~~
hjnilsson
I heartily recommend the same, I have notifications turned of for all social
apps, and for email/messages I only have the badge icon. Almost everything on
social platforms don't require your attention right away. It's okay, people
can wait.

------
cpplinuxdude
IFFT has a recipe to silence your phone when you're in focus time with rescue
time.

I also put my laptop in a bag once in a while, padlock the bag, then put my
phone and padlock key in my ksafe
([http://www.thekitchensafe.com/](http://www.thekitchensafe.com/)). Offline
heaven.

------
prawn
Switch off all notifications to start with. That's an easy first step.

~~~
pedrodelfino
Good tip, I have done that 2 years ago!

------
ashwinaj
Having a Pomodoro [1] app on your desktop/laptop helps. It sounded lame to me
initially (do work in 25 min chunks), but it seems to work for me.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique)

~~~
cgriswald
By way of disclaimer, I don't really have the problem OP describes; don't
really even understand it.

But I'll second pomodoros for pushing productivity and focus without killing
yourself.

I'll add that daily exercise improves clarity of mind (read: more focus and
other benefits). And having a busy schedule limits my ability to spend time on
social media or sites like Hacker News; so when I do spend time on them, I
tend to be more efficient with it ( _i.e.,_ focus on those things most
important to me) and feel like I get more out of it.

I think that last bit may be part of the problem for OP: the reward becoming
harder and hard to get, requiring more and more time. Going cold turkey and
then slowly introducing Facebook et al., back in might help a lot.

------
egypturnash
Every now and then I just delete the phone apps I think I'm using too much. If
it's a stock app you could just put it on the kiddie block list instead,
that's probably enough hassle to undo to make you think twice before
impulsively falling into the email hole or whatever.

Come to think of it maybe I should delete Tweetbot from my phone for a while.
It feels about time.

Coming at it from the other end, I find that the "Pomodoro Technique" [1] of
timeboxing works pretty well to keep me on task, when I go through the whole
ceremony of picking up the cute ladybug-shaped kitchen timer I've modified by
painting out anything beyond 25min, giving it a twist, and having that
kinesthetic memory plus the soft ticking reminding me that I have A Thing I
Have Promised Myself I Will Work On For This Block Of Time.

I haven't been doing that much lately either. I should start doing it again.

1: [http://pomodorotechnique.com](http://pomodorotechnique.com)

------
rygarfo
I had the same issue on my phone. Unable to switch to a dumb phone because of
job requirements. Along with using some sort of ritual, I use an app on my
phone called "forest" (iphone). Does a pretty good job of locking me out of
distracting apps for chunks of time.

I like this question. I'll see what other better answers come out out of it.

~~~
CrackpotGonzo
Which features would a dumb phone need for you to consider to switch?

~~~
rygarfo
Semi-computer functionality. I'm often working remote without access to a good
wifi connection. Website goes down, I have to be able to respond no matter the
time. Smartphone allows basic troubleshooting and provides notifications
easier than standard SMS (notifications through slack and other apps).

Any recommendations?

~~~
CrackpotGonzo
Yeah that's a tough one being on-call. Think you need a smartphone. Or setup
some IFTTT triggers to notify you via SMS for emergencies. Sorry I don't have
a better suggestion!

------
pakled_engineer
I have a daily schedule/ritual to keep productive, after a week it just became
the norm
[https://books.google.ca/books/about/Daily_Rituals.html?id=-t...](https://books.google.ca/books/about/Daily_Rituals.html?id=-tTCEHNt_R8C&source=kp_cover&redir_esc=y)

------
6stringmerc
Basic rules that have helped me over the years:

1 - No social media apps on my phone[1] that might be tempting to check during
the work day

2 - No social media logins on my work laptop of a distinctly personal
nature[2]

3 - Only checking social media when getting home and after a few minutes it's
just tiring to wade through stuff and it makes it a lot easier to close it up
and not be conditioned to think those outlets are worth the consistent
attention

[1] This doesn't count Periscope which I use for promotional purposes or might
come in handy in a pinch for sharing (but I don't open during work or watch
many other streams)

[2] Social media doesn't include some forums, I'm strictly speaking
FB/Twitter/etc. Forums are a different beast. Thankfully I tend to get tired
of some which enable me to avoid them, or if I return, I've deleted my account
and just read.

------
milge
Deleted my Facebook about a year ago or so now. I've never been happier. It's
funny how unsocial social networks really are.

------
armenarmen
I uninstalled a bunch of apps and put a domain blocker on chrome. I can get
past all of that if I need to, but the extra 5 seconds of work needed to get
to 'social' gives me some time to catch myself.

~~~
unfocused828
What domain blocker is there available on chrome for mobile?

~~~
armenarmen
not sure, i'm an ios guy

------
Theodores
I like to keep my computer 'clean' so that when a colleague comes over and
asks me to look at some problem the browser auto-complete/suggest does not
suggest any non-work things, whether they be news sites, social network sites
or anything else that I read in my own time. The most embarrassing things my
auto-complete suggests are things like the man page for 'strpos' (I should
know whether the needle comes before the haystack by now).

If I really feel the urge to read non-work stuff then I have my phone, which
costs money, has a useless keyboard and a diminutive screen. If I am making a
cup of tea then there is plenty of time there to see if anyone has sent me
email etc.

Regarding work email, I do not read a lot of it and I expect my colleagues to
know that I don't read emails. I do read important ones but social events and
other work emails that are non-critical I just move to the 'almost read'
folder. Generally my email is just used for test purposes, lots of systems cc
me in on things so real emails are hard to find amongst the reports etc.

I do have problems with 'slack' at the moment, some people are a little
evangelical about it and I just find it to be lots of noise. I wish 'slack'
would go and that I could return to the lame 'Skype' as that did work well for
my needs.

------
im_dario
Maybe it won't work for you but this is how I see my way to deal with social
addiction. YMMV.

I don't really manage it. I just let it flow, I don't feel guilty. That's the
first step.

I also disable browser & desktop notifications. It's fine to see a highlighted
tab or a number in the systray.

My mobile is always on vibration. Social apps are muted. All of them. I wear a
Fitbit wristband synced by Bluetooth for phone calls notifications.

I use Serializer[0] as main input of news. I check it between tasks, scanning
the titles and sending the articles to Pocket (important!).

I let myself check anything at any moment. When I feel "the urge" I just ask
myself "should I check something?". Take a few seconds to answer that and I
usually keep going on my task and check later. If not, it just happened. No
big worry.

I also keep myself away from Twitter & Facebook using Buffer to plan my
publications. I use Goofy or Pidgin to connect to Facebook chat.

Finally, I use Evernote with a keyboard shortcut to open my "brain dump" note.
Here I jot down quick ideas that come across my mind while I'm doing a task.
You can use anything else but Evernote is useful even walking. You can write
down in your mobile and sync it later at home/office.

[0] [http://serializer.io/](http://serializer.io/)

------
rgbrgb
I use this "Block site" plugin [0] to redirect facebook.com ->
openlistings.com because I still want FB pixels, etc to work for web
development.

Keeps me addicted to the right things :).

[0]: [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/block-
site/eiimnmi...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/block-
site/eiimnmioipafcokbfikbljfdeojpcgbh?hl=en)

------
d0m
Just turn notifications off from non-important apps. Or, put a "non disturb"
mode for a few hours when you want to be focussed.

------
mcknz
This article has an interesting approach -- the author cut FB cold turkey for
2 weeks, but was able to return and be a more responsible, casual user:

[http://time.com/3093332/5-things-i-learned-when-i-quit-
faceb...](http://time.com/3093332/5-things-i-learned-when-i-quit-facebook)

~~~
LifeQuestioner
I quit facebook cold turkey every 2-3 months. Slowly it seems to creap back
into my life. I noticed I was replacing addictions...apparently this is
common.

------
smonff
Most of the notifications are not necessary. It just gives you bad habits and
distract you. The addiction you describe is partly created by getting used of
all these small notifications sounds that excite you and give you the habit of
checking all your accounts in a terrific infinite loop.

When you think about it, it is not human, you have far more things to do than
being distract by these little sounds. Most of the applications makes possible
to set precisely when you want to be notified or not. Don't worry, even with
notifications, you will still be distracted by your kids, cat, neighbors,
flying birds and dust.

I don't think the browser extensions are a solution to this. You have to learn
to control it by yourself.

------
iphoneseventeen
For Android, I started using QualityTime. It tracks your usage. Annoyingly, it
also counts background apps as "running". But it really helps to give me a
snapshot of my day. I can see what time I woke up and started redditing on the
can :P

------
throwaway11100
Last week I got Modafinil. I've been using it every day this week. I've felt
slightly happier throughout the day, and more focused than I've ever been in
my life.

It used to take _so much_ energy for me to start working. But on Modafinil I
switch to emacs and start hacking.

I bet I'm going through a honeymoon period, but I'd say I've learned more
about programming this week than in any (any!) month of my life. I feel really
focused.

Many use it to avoid sleep. I don't; I get eight hours of sleep a night. I'm
trying to avoid crashing, burning out, dependency et cetera by using Modafinil
like an antidepressant, not a five hour energy.

------
gregorymichael
\- Took FB/Twitter off my phone. Laptop's never far away. This was the biggest
80% improvement for me.

\- Newsfeed Eradicator. Keeps me from consuming FB. I can still post, lookup
the groups I'm in, lookup specific people, use FB Messenger etc. But it's no
longer a black hole.

\- StayFocusd in Chrome to block Reddit/Twitter/FB/HN from 8am to 2pm. By
afternoon, either I'm engrossed in my work and don't need to worry about
distractions or my brain is mush and no more work is getting done today. Most
crucial time is when I first get to the office. Can still use Firefox if
necessary, but this eliminates the mindless CMD+T.

------
_csharp
I uninstalled Facebook app from my phone. Don't miss it at all. I have muted
all the Whats App group conversations, as it is mostly recycled jokes. I still
get notifications from individual friends trying to contact me.

------
tretiy3
In case of Facebook the solution is very easy. In desktop version, when you
put mouse over friend image there is a popup menu with item "Following" which
contains one more popup menu with "Unfollow" item. When you unfollow friend
his activity gets removed from the feed. The friend will never see that he is
"unfollowed": no any notification fired. In several days i just unfollow
everybody and now my feed is empty.

~~~
randycupertino
I'm actually really surprised facebook green lighted this feature to roll out.
They had to know it would decimate their user engagement levels??

It's made their site much less sticky and I spend WAY less time on facebook
now that I've unfollowed almost everyone on there. It's awesome. The only
people I still follow anymore are my immediate family who I care about not
missing any updates from.

------
a_lifters_life
I edit /etc/hosts, and block these sites, Ive been doing this for months with
facebook and don't have urges to begin typing "face..." in my url bar anymore.

I really recommend it.

I think a bit part of it for me, was finding another site that interested me
enough to not have me thinking "man, I wonder what <enter in lame fb user> is
saying.

Hope this helps :)

------
ddingus
One device.

I don't have a problem with most of these. Facebook can demand a lot of
attention though. I learned others expect what you give. So I don't give much,
others are fine with that and Facebook isn't a problem.

My Mac at home is the entertainment computer. It has all the problem stuff on
it, potential problem stuff too. When I have time, I can hop onto that
computer and enjoy. No worries.

------
giarc
My trick - cut down the people you follow.

Take 20 minutes one day and block all those on facebook that you really don't
care to follow or post too much stuff. You don't need to 'Unfriend' them, just
'unfollow' them. This way you only see the stuff you care about and will
inevitably spend less time on Facebook. This can be applied to
twitter/snapchat etc.

------
3beans
At 8pm I go read-only. I tell my colleagues this as well. Unless anything is
burning to the ground I don't care.

Sometimes I'll do an /etc/hosts block and shift that site I'm over visiting to
another device. Makes me realize I'm using it too much. Once that moment hits
I unblock when I feel I'm ready for it on my laptop again.

------
framebit
I've just crossed the three week mark of no Facebook. Scrolling through my
newsfeed had become a bad mindless habit, one that sucked my time and
emotional energy without giving anything back. But dang, it was hard to break.
This hasn't been my first time getting away from FB, but it's been the most
successful so far.

There is value for me in having a FB account. There are some people that I
only communicate with through the service, and I'm part of some groups that do
all their event organization through FB. Deleting my account, for me, was both
undesirable and impractical. But I sure as hell wanted to break my addiction.

I started using a simple habit tracker on Android call Rewire to track my
progress in breaking this habit. After a few false starts, "don't break the
chain of success" became more motivating than I originally thought it would
be.

I also ramped up the severity of my FB diet instead of going cold turkey right
off the bat. This was roughly my progression:

1\. Delete the phone app. There's not a great way around this. I still use
Messenger, and for the first time I find myself really glad that the services
are separated.

2\. I started logging in and out of the service in a browser. When I finally
tore myself away from the newsfeed, I'd sign out. When I was tempted to go
back, having to sign in again was a usability barrier, but also a reminder to
myself of what I was trying to accomplish. Sometimes it was enough to help me
resist actually logging in.

3\. No mobile FB. I did my best not to log in through a mobile browser. I
still allowed myself to browse on a laptop or desktop.

4\. No more FB. I configured my email settings to get notifications about very
specific things and then looked at my news feed on a desktop browser for what
would hopefully be the last time. My personal rule: if I get an email about
something that was directed particularly to me, whether it's somebody posting
on my page or somebody tagging me in a comment, I will log in through a
desktop browser, address that event, and immediately log out. No looking at
the newsfeed, no browsing to friends' pages. I also unsubscribed from all the
promo emails FB started sending me when it detected that I was inactive.

I hope this helps! Breaking my FB addiction was tough, but very rewarding. I
don't miss my newsfeed full of political vitriol and worthless clickbait. I've
had more rewarding conversations with friends I care about through other
means. I don't miss being part of "the conversation." So, A++, would
recommend, but be realistic and gentle with yourself as you progress.

Good luck!

------
jongold
I use Focus[1] in hardcore mode, scheduled from 22:00-12:55 and 13:00-19:00.

I really suggest reading Deep Work by Cal Newport.

For my phone - I deleted all of my social apps (apart from Instagram, Swarm
etc) and keep it in another room or in my bag as much as possible.

[1] [http://heyfocus.com](http://heyfocus.com)

------
nareshv
If we can find "why" we go to all these apps/websites, then we can find a
solution by ourselves by satisfying the "why" with some other one which can
improve our skills (or any other desired quality)

For example, if we always check emails just to see how many new-emails we have
got, so that we can act on them asap, Its a good case as its going to improve
our productivity and time-to-respond lower.

Another example, if we always check fb to see what other people's activities
are. Well, we can turn this around and make us the person who is doing lots of
personal activities (outside of internet domain) and posting it to facebook
(may be weekly), or restrict it to closer pals/family.

Personally, if we interact more with Nature around us, it feels great.

Restrict the use of these "virtual" worlds and try to participate more with
the world around us. Instead of posting a message on facebook, may be call
your best friends and say hi. Its million times better than seeing 1 like for
the post in the virtual world.

------
eswat
If I start labelling a site as an addiction - like I habitually type in the
URL of one of these sites when I open a new tab - I block the sige by adding
it to my hosts file. After a month or two The hunger pangs on wanting to go to
those sites go away.

------
herbst
I just dont do it, and dont do anything on my phone when i am not on the
toilet or waiting somewhere where i could not work. Just a little discepline
imho.

------
bossx
Take all the social networking Apps off your phone and just use the web
versions when you really need to check them. You'll save tons of battery life
and stop getting notifications every 5 minutes.

------
Bahamut
Quit using [insert service] for a period of time.

When you no longer feel a need to use it, then it is safe to use it. This has
been the best cure for addictions for me in the past, but YMMV.

------
pacomerh
Deactivated my FB since 2012. Happier more productive ever since. These days I
only do Instagram.

------
mdellabitta
I assume the discussion around how to manage HN addiction will be conducted
elsewhere?

------
RoadRunner_23
Have kids. Addition will automatically go away.

------
conductr
Power on/off

------
mosburger
I predicted there'd be a lot of sanctimonious "I just don't have an account,
they're a waste of time" responses, and it seems like I was right. That's
great for you, but that's really not helpful to someone who already has an
account and is struggling to quit. And it can be a real struggle. The dopamine
hits on likes and favs and the fear of missing out on a conversation can be
really hard to break.

Like the OP, I'm using StayFocusd and I've used RescueTime in the past, and
it's actually been very helpful for me. Right now I've given up Facebook and
I'm tackling Reddit next. I don't have a solution for my phone, but it hasn't
been a problem for me because I leave it charging across the room when I'm
working. It's still difficult for me during evenings, but I'll probably try
something similar for that soon.

~~~
atomic77
I used StayFocusd for a while, and while it helped, I also had the same
problem with my phone, resulting in periodic uninstalls of the social apps. I
found this to be attacking the symptoms and not the root cause though.

I then started using the pomodoro technique, with strict no IM/FB/etc during
pomodoros. A nice side benefit of disciplining myself to work in this way was
to reduce the impulsive desire to check FB, and over time I noticed that my
desire to go onto FB, even when it was "permitted", had been reduced. I don't
have StayFocusd or any such plugins installed any longer.

