4 ms·

I agree, for me youtube is incredibly addictive, I'm even working with a psychiatrist about it (and other addictions of course). She was mentioning "the youth o

I agree, for me youtube is incredibly addictive, I'm even working with a psychiatrist about it (and other addictions of course). She was mentioning "the youth on tiktok" and I told her, youtube is the exact same thing for 30+ YOs. Her "key" is to be busy with some other activity.

thefz 2y ago
> youtube is the exact same thing for 30+ YOs Subjective. I can't stand using it for some reason, and when I have to, I hate the experience. There's something I can't grasp that makes me want to stay away from it. I salute those who have the stomach to sit in front of it for hours.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Yes same here. I just really dislike video content. I much prefer a long read / deep dive written article because it's much more accessible. I can read at my own speed of comprehension (generally much faster than a video) and I can easily jump around without losing context. But I'm not very typical I guess.
  - Synaesthesia 2y ago
    I feel the same way but I'm still hopelessly addicted to the internet.
    - andrewinardeer 2y ago
      I thought I was addicted to the internet too yet it turns out I'm addicted to information whether that be short, long, audio or video content. The insatiable desire to be up to date with current news, happenings in my fields of interest or social circles became unmanageable. Furthermore, the teams of people with doctorates employed by tech companies to make their product even stickier with each iteration made my battle all the more challenging. By creating hard boundaries that were non-negotiable such as limiting time on the top (n) sites, banning certain apps on the phone and deleting accounts helped me immensely. Being online is hard to avoid such as banking, portfolio management, booking medical appointments and acquiring entertainment to consume are now ingrained in modern society yet learning the skill (or art of) disconnecting to enjoy non-online or 'outside' activities and controlling my compulsion to surf aimlessly (laptop or mobile) from one site to the next took weeks to get under control. Training my family and friends to not expect an instant reply to messages also took a long time and surprisingly difficult. Today was a public holiday where I live and I'm happy to say I spent it offline. I did however listen to the news and the footy on the wireless. Only now in the late evening for 20 minutes am I replying to my messages and 'online'.
  - Yizahi 2y ago
    You can very "effectively" waste time reading articles daily, literally no different from the time wasted on YT. The only difference is reputation of "printed letters" is higher than of "video". But the mechanism is the same - wasting time on some quick entertainment (yes, reading longform articles is also a quick entertainment) for a dopamine hit, then switch to the next one. I do it for years now.
    - wkat4242 2y ago
      I don't think this is a waste. When I read articles linked here from HN I actually learn something. On Youtube it's mostly vacuous showmen like Linus tech tips and Mr Beast crap. I don't think there is much worth watching there except perhaps EEVBlog.
Arisaka1 2y ago
YouTube is insufferable for me to browse without the DFTube extension hiding all recommended and sidebar content.
piva00 2y ago
> Her "key" is to be busy with some other activity. That's also the issue, isn't it? YouTube addiction feeds in the vacuum of not knowing what other activities one wants to do. Doing nothing and don't know what you want to do? Maybe you open YouTube to fill the void. I know I do (even though much less nowadays).
- bionsystem 2y ago
  She explained that some activities (active ones, social ones, etc), once you are used to planning them and doing them, actually reward the brain a lot more than scrolling, and eventually you don't go back to the addictive behavior anymore. It's a form of CBT. I'm going to try it because I have nothing more than her word for it.

thefz 2y ago

> youtube is the exact same thing for 30+ YOs Subjective. I can't stand using it for some reason, and when I have to, I hate the experience. There's something I can't grasp that makes me want to stay away from it. I salute those who have the stomach to sit in front of it for hours.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
wkat4242 2y ago
Yes same here. I just really dislike video content. I much prefer a long read / deep dive written article because it's much more accessible. I can read at my own speed of comprehension (generally much faster than a video) and I can easily jump around without losing context. But I'm not very typical I guess.
- Synaesthesia 2y ago
  I feel the same way but I'm still hopelessly addicted to the internet.
  - andrewinardeer 2y ago
    I thought I was addicted to the internet too yet it turns out I'm addicted to information whether that be short, long, audio or video content. The insatiable desire to be up to date with current news, happenings in my fields of interest or social circles became unmanageable. Furthermore, the teams of people with doctorates employed by tech companies to make their product even stickier with each iteration made my battle all the more challenging. By creating hard boundaries that were non-negotiable such as limiting time on the top (n) sites, banning certain apps on the phone and deleting accounts helped me immensely. Being online is hard to avoid such as banking, portfolio management, booking medical appointments and acquiring entertainment to consume are now ingrained in modern society yet learning the skill (or art of) disconnecting to enjoy non-online or 'outside' activities and controlling my compulsion to surf aimlessly (laptop or mobile) from one site to the next took weeks to get under control. Training my family and friends to not expect an instant reply to messages also took a long time and surprisingly difficult. Today was a public holiday where I live and I'm happy to say I spent it offline. I did however listen to the news and the footy on the wireless. Only now in the late evening for 20 minutes am I replying to my messages and 'online'.
- Yizahi 2y ago
  You can very "effectively" waste time reading articles daily, literally no different from the time wasted on YT. The only difference is reputation of "printed letters" is higher than of "video". But the mechanism is the same - wasting time on some quick entertainment (yes, reading longform articles is also a quick entertainment) for a dopamine hit, then switch to the next one. I do it for years now.
  - wkat4242 2y ago
    I don't think this is a waste. When I read articles linked here from HN I actually learn something. On Youtube it's mostly vacuous showmen like Linus tech tips and Mr Beast crap. I don't think there is much worth watching there except perhaps EEVBlog.

Arisaka1 2y ago

YouTube is insufferable for me to browse without the DFTube extension hiding all recommended and sidebar content.

piva00 2y ago

> Her "key" is to be busy with some other activity. That's also the issue, isn't it? YouTube addiction feeds in the vacuum of not knowing what other activities one wants to do. Doing nothing and don't know what you want to do? Maybe you open YouTube to fill the void. I know I do (even though much less nowadays).

bionsystem 2y ago
She explained that some activities (active ones, social ones, etc), once you are used to planning them and doing them, actually reward the brain a lot more than scrolling, and eventually you don't go back to the addictive behavior anymore. It's a form of CBT. I'm going to try it because I have nothing more than her word for it.