I'm trying out using 15 minutes app timers on my social media apps today.

[teaceratops@peoplemaking.games]

I'm trying out using 15 minutes app timers on my social media apps today.

I'm hoping it interrupts me before I slip into a neverending doom scroll. I start with my app timers on 15 minutes, and have to put the phone down when the warning comes up. But, because I do need breaks and to pace myself throughout the day, I can add 15 minutes when I am taking a break - but when the timer ends, I put the phone down.

There are a lot of other things I could be doing with my rest time, that are more productive. I'm done with rotting on social media because an algorithm has learnt how to keep me in its little bubble.

Let's see if this works.

[teaceratops@peoplemaking.games]

I'm trying to be open about this, because I've noticed it's not just me. A lot of folks are struggling with this. It's not surprising - the world is a bit crazy right now, and it's either hard to look away, or it's so bad folks are trying to find a distraction.

But when you are distracted, it's hard to take action.
A lot of things need action at the moment.

[dianaprobst@mastodon.art]

@Teaceratops I have started reading https://notalwaysright.com/newest - I stop when I reach something I have read before, but it gives me a Thing To Do when I reach for my phone. On Mastodon I have Fesshole, for the same reason.

[ifixcoinops@retro.social]

@Teaceratops Gave up reddit for a couple of months this year and then got sucked back in because of Current Events and, yeah. It's not awesome. Thanks for identifying it.

[silvermoon82@wandering.shop]

@ifixcoinops @Teaceratops
Yeah, Reddit is insidious for me. There's one social group I check in every week to thumbs-up the meeting announcement, but if I use Reddit any more than that I get drawn in armpit deep.

I mean, my use of Fedi is probably past a safe threshold, but Reddit almost instantly eclipses it, and the interactions there are way worse for my mental health.

[teaceratops@peoplemaking.games]

@ifixcoinops honestly, I think your comments underline the main culprit for me. I need to delete Reddit. I was doing ok, and then got into Reddit, and it just sucks you in so badly.

Do we really need 24 hour news coverage and to read everyone's comments on it, or can we just read the newspapers in the morning like we used to?

Good luck 💜

[teaceratops@peoplemaking.games]

@silvermoon82 @ifixcoinops oh my gosh, yes, there's some subs I've had to hide completely because there are such a wide range of commenters, you never know if your mental health is going to make it out alive or not just reading the comments.

[ifixcoinops@retro.social]

@Teaceratops it's not even real fucking news, is the worst of it. Like, I could read an actual news website, but instead I go on reddit and see an image of a headline on some spam site without even a link and there'll be a thousand comments reacting to it, it's bananas

[teaceratops@peoplemaking.games]

@ifixcoinops oh my god YES! And then, because the link is from a dodgy website, I don't actually click the link!

So, instead of going to a reputable newspaper, I'm just consuming dodgy headlines and bad opinions, and why are we doing this to ourselves!?

Fuck it. I might just delete the app altogether, it's not like I have any semblance of community on there. It's nice on my computer, but I also don't keep my computer in my pocket all day, so easier to break a habit.

[ifixcoinops@retro.social]

@Teaceratops a good idea, I had the same one, now I'm browsing reddit logged-out via mobile browser, getting the Default Reddit Front Page Experience and it's baaaaaaad lol

You'd think making the product shittier would make me less addicted, it's mostly made me feel sillier about being as addicted as I am