
Ask HN: How to avoid excessive use of laptop/mobile/PC/Internet/Social Media? - buzzwr
Hello Guys,<p>From the past few weeks, I am feeling slightly headache after work because of the excessive use of all smart devices. I usually spend my 11-13 hours per day either on laptop or mobile. I am using so much internet and Social Media Sites. I am a software engineer by profession so I need to work at least 7 hours on a laptop. I want to change my habit and don&#x27;t want to use any smart devices, internet, Social Media Sites more than 8 hours per day. Sometimes I get a headache because of all these.<p>Do you guys feel the same pain? How do you guys manage? How to slightly detach my self from all the Social Media Sites?
======
emptyparadise
Digital detox - just quitting tech - comes from good intentions, but is
misguided. Don't cut out sites and devices entirely - that honestly makes life
more painful than it needs to be, and plays right into the hands of platforms
competing for your attention, as it makes it seem like the only two options
are the extremes of "24/7 FOMO avoidance" and "basically Amish."

Rather than falling into those extremes, try to cut out the bad parts of your
tech experience.

Don't nuke your phone, instead remove the apps you waste time on - so you can
still see a map or make an important cal when you need to.

Don't nuke all social media, instead, nuke the addictive timelines - so you
can still check in with a friend when you want to.

Set timers before you open a specific site that you know to be a time sink -
so that you don't get sucked in opening more and more tabs.

Finally, come up with a hobby you can take part in without a computer, and one
you do purely for personal enjoyment. It's a lot harder to stop wasting time
on a device if your alternative is to stare at a blank wall.

------
DamnYuppie
How about getting some non computer based hobbies to throw yourself into??

Take up sailing, flying, hiking, tennis, golf, fishing, painting, poetry,
archery...I mean seriously there is SOOO much more to do in the world than
there is to do on Social Media! My motto is to “be a doer not a voyeur”.

------
return1
I think this has become a herd problem. You have to replace your phone time
with doing something else, preferably with other people. But if they are also
occasionally on their phones then that opportunity is lost. It s kind of a
vortex

------
zw123456
Find a good book. There is something very satisfying to me about reading a
very interesting book.

------
daleholborow
Look at a program called Cold Turkey or something similar to block sites
between certain times

------
winkeyless
Start to think about what matters to you and what deeply interests you.

Maybe the answer is something offline.

