I feel very weird. I’m 27 and I’ve never done a social media detox (I’ve had social media since I was 15). I feel good in a sense but I also feel like I’m missing out and disconnected from the world?? To me, it feels similar to dieting. Like, I know it’s good for me, but it feels weird to change habits. Does this go away?? I’ve deleted everything besides Reddit (snap, IG, Facebook, TikTok). TikTok was making me extremely anxious about the state of the world and was influencing my negative outlook on life. I rarely used IG or snap, and Facebook was just to keep me updated on friends and family. Sorry for the word vomit, I kinda just threw all my thoughts out there haha.

I’m a freelancer, so I spend most of my time working and living at home.
A couple of years ago, I was always eager to go out, explore, and travel. But after visiting many beautiful places around the world, exploring most of the interesting spots in my own city, and having my close friends move away, I’ve gradually stopped wanting to leave the house.

Since becoming a freelancer, I’ve also had to be more careful with money, so traveling frequently isn’t really an option for me anymore.
I did try to make my life more interesting in other ways. At different points, I enthusiastically tried learning a new language, working out, and even learning the piano. But I never managed to stick with any of them for very long. After giving up on so many things, I feel like I’ve lost some confidence in myself, and I’m not even that interested in trying new hobbies anymore.

The problem is, I don’t actually want to become someone who just stays home all the time. I want to go out and enjoy life, but I genuinely feel like I’ve forgotten how to have fun. Whenever I leave the house, I often end up wondering what I’m supposed to do, where I’m supposed to go, or how people actually spend a fun day outside.

So I’m curious: what do you actually do for fun outside, especially on your own and without spending a lot of money? Where do you go? What kinds of activities do you do? How do you turn an ordinary afternoon or weekend into something you genuinely look forward to?
I feel like I need to relearn how to play and enjoy myself, so I’d love to hear very concrete examples of what people actually do.

I open one of my favorite games for 5 minutes and get bored and close it??? I used to play for 8 hours.

I used to be able to watch full movies now I can't even watch two episodes of a TV show.

Is this just cheap stimulation addiction? Or is it ADHD? I read you can't develop ADHD as an adult.

After one year on reddit it is time to go, not that i have used reddit much. I just personly think it is full of hive mind nutjobs. ie publicfreakout and norse reddits.

I mean, its all about habituation, but how many of you got this feeling? Years of keeping in internet, watching everything and after that, theres no things that can give me happy.

Eckhart Tolle helpped me with that a bit, feeling slowly better now, but its hard to feel something. In somehow i feeling like an old witcher without any emotions, hoping that i die soon and dont be bother any family of mine.

Thats stupid, internet is stupid, even if theres still something good. Looking for the good thing in internet is now like swimming in cesspool, if this is correct word.

Its stupid.

I cannot explain how disappointed i am in myself. i have a problem and i need help. it's very difficult when you live alone. it's very difficult when it always starts with 'i want something to watch while i eat'. it's very difficult when im stressed and want to unwind. I just am in a trance and cannot stop or get up or snap out of it. I hate this hell im putting myself through and I need help. I don't know how to get it. I'm not doing right by my health, or my work, or my studies, or my cat or myself. i dont know how to get this under control. and it's just so unbearably difficult to not watch anything when i feel like i need some form of entertainment or company or a voice to hear and people to see so that i don't feel like im going insane. but then it just gets out of hand, because i can't stop myself. i am very sad

i get days and weeks where im fine, and everything is under control, and suddenly i've wasted 2 days, 3 days, a week... i don't know how to help myself out of this vicious cycle i keep inserting myself in .

Sorry for the crashout, but I don't know where to post. This has to be the most miserable place in internet. I have yet to found an social media more toxic than reddit. People here are complete douchebags or worse, actual bad persons! There is not a single place I've been more bullied than this damn website. And what makes me more angry is because it is always for the most ordinary things ever.

I can't give an mere opinion without getting downvoted to the oblivion and harrassed in the coments. It is impossible to have an sane debate about almost everything here. This place is a bubble, where the same opinions gets glazed and the same kind of post gets the more upvotes. The fact that I had more sane debates over a disagreement in INSTAGRAM says much about this place. And I never had problems with mods, my beef is with the people who use Reddit daily.

Almost all subs I go act like they are part of a cult. Ironically, religious subs are more accepting of different opinions than, let's say, a superhero or any other pop culture fandom sub. And If you think that it is only american reddit that is like this, I can guarantee that the subreddits of my country are ten times worse!

Also, why are people here always angry? I'm always amazed at how the average Reddit user can call someone a "piece of shit" just for having a different opinion, and I'm not even talking about politics! I'm not even angry because I got bullied and all that, no. I'm angry because I see it happens with so much other people. Also I'm surprised on how much this website tolerates bullying/abuse and even promotes it. Yesterday, I saw a comment like this "[certain group of people] should be ashamed to exist", and there was someone who called him out. You may already presume who got downvoted into oblivion and who got upvoted, right? The virtue signalling here also piss me off, because It always come from that person you know would be insufferable to deal with in real life.

People here can be downvoted for simply asking a question! Like, what the hell, man? Sometimes I think it's not even because they don't like what you posted/commented, but only with the purpose of being mean. I'm glad this place is getting more hated outside of it.

Now I can't think in any sub that makes me want to stay in this hell. I wasn't using it much as I used, but it is interesting that my worst time in life I always would spent hours and hours on Reddit. I haven't leaved this place before because I couldn't find any place to discuss some things I like with people who have actual knownledge. You know what, It's not worth it.

Someone posted very mean and provocatice comments under a post about healthy plus size relationships. Honestly I've never seen more offensive comments on women's bodies than that.

Me and a few other users ended up in an argument with them, who communicated like an absolute psycho without manners. After way too much time, I checked their profile. Or should I say its? There where hundreds and thousands of comments like this, on all kinds of topics. Very repetitive and always a bit off, but always full of hate. I then realized that user was most probably one of those bots designed to outrage social media.

I'd heard about those but to spot one in the wild gives me an odd feeling and makes me want to leave the internet forever. I've just wasted my time talking to a computer, feeling hurt by things a computer said. And since reddit is so mean these days, they blended in perfectly.

I looked it up, and apparently 20% of reddit's comment section could possibly be bots. This is insane.

I’ve been off most mainstream social media for almost a year now (facebook, instagram, snapchat) and i can’t help thinking to myself how cringe and embarrassing it sounds when people around me talk about those platforms.

Example: “They were active and didn’t respond to me!”

Out loud i say “don’t sweat it” but internally I’m really thinking about how embarrassing it is that we've normalized tracking each other's online activity and letting arbitrary status indicators dictate our self worth and relationships. Stepping away has highlighted how toxic and unnatural that hyper-awareness actually is.

On top of that, the whole ritual of posting for validation is just as embarrassing. Watching people carefully stage photos, post performative updates and obsess over like counts or view counts looks genuinely humiliating once you step away from it.

So, I like to write.

Sometimes, I post my essays to Reddit (on different accounts.) Most of the time, people respond positively to my writing. But, one time, I posted an essay, and a small subset of commenters accused me of being a bot. They said the essay was far too generic and nonsensical to be written by a human. I responded that I was not a bot, and my small post history was visible for all to see. The commenters argued with me, saying that "that's just what a bot would say."

I abandoned the argument, feeling hurt. Was my writing truly generic enough to be confused with AI?

I thought about the students I taught in freshman composition. I tried to be openminded with all their essays, but, after reading AI-generated text (with fake sources) over and over again, I started to be suspicious of my students' writing instead of excited about it. The AI-text-checkers are inaccurate and discriminatory. There is no real way to know if a piece of writing is real or not. This realization gave me a sense of unreality.

I started to understand the commenters on my essay a bit more. At least I knew my students were real people!

In this era of unreality, I am going to spend less time online. Reddit's great in some ways, but it is also full of AI, bots, and antisocial behavior. The internet's done amazing things for me, but it's also ruined my life -- and AI is the nail in the coffin.

Meet yourself where you're at. People often fall into an all-or-nothing mindset when it comes to self-improvement. It's NOT realistic to expect yourself to go from 8 hours of Tiktok a day to zero screentime. START SMALL! These are some examples:

• You're currently on Tiktok 24/7? Switch to Youtube 24/7 (longer form content). Then maybe podcasts or audiobooks.
• Start peeing without taking your phone into the bathroom (that's only like 2 minutes max). When that feels managable, start also pooping without your phone (a little longer of a time). Then start showering without your phone.

Read FUN books. I don't wanna see you picking up fucking Metamorphesis or Pride and Prejudice. You like smutty romances? Read that. I like teen/YA books becuase the language is more approachable for me. A lot of your favourite movies and shows are based on books, look into that. Yes, audiobooks count.

You're going to experience withdrawl symptoms. There's no way around that. But learning distress tolerance skills can help to cope with the discomfort. These are things that work for me:

• TIPP is helpful for immediate, short term-relief of more intense emotions.
• Urge Surfing. This is a skill that you build over time, and it's VERY helpful long term. (Also worth looking into Mindfullness of Current Emotions, it's a good building block for urge surfing).
• Journaling. Don't overcomplicate it. Pen, paper, write down whatever thoughts are forming in your head.

Give yourself credit. Social media is designed by experts to be as addictive as possible. Getting better is reallly fucking hard! Be proud of yourself. "The progress I made is really small" no it isn't shut up. "I failed cause I relapsed" relaspses are a normal part of recovery, you didn't fail.

TLDR:

1. Super duper small tiny TINY changes
2. Read FUN books
3. Distress tolerance skills
4. Be proud of yourself

I’m 30 now, and I’ve noticed that staying away from screens has become much harder than it was in my early 20s.
For years, I barely used technology outside of work. I spent my free time reading, walking, or just doing nothing. Sure, I’d occasionally binge YouTube or watch movies, but I always returned to my NoSurf lifestyle pretty easily.
Now, even when I’m feeling great mentally and physically, I struggle to resist the temptation.
I have a theory: As we get older, we accumulate more regrets, shame, stress, failed relationships, and worries about the world. Life gets more complicated, and escaping into screens becomes more tempting. Of course, algorithms have also become much better at keeping us hooked.
I’ve tried different approaches, but I’m starting to think the solution isn’t just about building more willpower.
Maybe it’s about spending less time alone at home.
I’ve realized that my biggest struggles aren’t when I’m working, walking, or doing things outside. They’re when I come home, when I have a free evening, or when Sunday rolls around.
I love solitude, but I’m starting to believe that community might be the answer. Meeting friends, playing cards, talking, hanging out, even watching a movie together instead of alone. Nothing special, just being around people.
And when I want solitude, I can find it on a walk, in a park, or somewhere in nature.
Maybe the next step in NoSurf isn’t just learning to resist technology, but spending more time outside, seeking out other people, and making community a bigger part of our everyday lives.
Curious if anyone else has experienced something similar as they’ve gotten older.

Like I wake up telling myself I will not open my devices today but then my brain says “we need to google this, check that” and then I just open it and start scrolling, its like non-concious even. i have had good result tapering off it by watching long content without touching the screen so basically TV, but its easy to go back to scrolling q0hrs a day, the tolerance is easy to build. Might try cold turkey next but I actually need to grind for college credit rn so I havent figured out how to do that

I've started this digital disconnection journey (wish me luck) and I started reading again, yet I would like to read something about these mechanisms that get us hooked, why are we this way, how can we break free and stop the craving of coming back, time management, this sort of topics.

When i was a kid my parents were idiots, so I was doing 12 hours Tv a day, then 16 hours a day when i discovered internet, unless I had school. 4 years ago I discovered weed and managed to use it to stop scrolling completely for 3 years and actually did so so much, I was truly living like the 70s. Then march this year I got perscribed Duroxetine 30mg (cymbalta) for depression, i swear ts was like meth or like adhd medication or sth, at week number 3 on duroxetine, I started studying algebra 10 hours a day didnt need to move I was so engrossed, I was sweating buckets everyday, was outside from 5am to 8pm, going into cafes to study while looking crazy tweaked out, but I understood everything I read for the first time in my life. For 2 weeks I repeatedly this crazy routine while progressively becoming more violent and irritable, I had a lucid moment and realized I needed to get off it stat. After I stopped duroxetine I crashed for 1 month straight and became heavily addicted to screen again, its been 6 months I still havent been able to go a day without using screens for less than 10 hours a day. I dont even like weed that much anymore so I cant use that method to get off screens. I thought I escaped but just like that Im back to where I left it. I had lasik in 2022 and up until march my eyesight remained perfect, but after getting addicted to screens again it had gone more and more blurry. So much frustration but I cant seem to get off this shit. I quit alcohol, I quit weed, porn, nitrous oxide, but this one thing I cannot kick

I fear quick dopamine fixes have ruined my life, or maybe they're just an excuse. Lately I have been feeling so depressed and like these quick fixes have ruined my creativity and mind. I'm going to therapy, and exploring if I have ADHD. I'm an addict I'm sure. What now? What can I do tomorrow to fix this? I'm fine if I'm indulging in movies and books. But I want to write. I want to. be creative again. Give me steps. Give me something!

Some months ago I discovered a pop artist, and boy, I fell in love with that music. It was exactly my cup of tea and made me feel so much. It was quite amazing.

Then I found a subreddit made for fans of said artist. And While I liked it there initially, I discovered we have some differences of opinion. Like, no issue with that. But voicing my personal experience with music, my opions of the artist vrought only downvotes and ignorance of what I said. It's like a hive mind that doesn't allow unique takes there. I guess we enjoy the same music and artist for different reasons or idk.

Making posts with anything less of absolute praise and recognizing the God status of the pop star is not taken into consideration. Voicing just tinge of 'criticism' (wouldn't call it criticism though) is met with downvotes and lenghty comments about my audacity to criticize THE music.

Honestly I joined it because I wanted to discuss. That artist's music was so interesting to me and I just wanted to have some conversations about music. But I found half brained overly praising posts and that's it. Once someone asked "what do we think about...". And I hate this type of questions. What do you mean with "we"? Are you not capable of formulating an opinion? Do we have to do group think? I can't kid myself like that.

Moreso, ir's like this people consoder a pop artist their parent, their guru, they want them to say and do this and that. They get so invested in their personal lives and everyhting they do or say. Idk, feels really cultish in a way. It's too much.

Somehow all this experience made me distance myself from this artist and that's unfortunate. But I will have to come back after all my frustration with its fanbase is gone.

Hello, this is a post I never thought I'd make.

3 years ago, I fell into a severe depression and isolated myself from the world, the only contact I'd have would be the internet and discord strangers. For the longest time I thought that was it, that it would NEVER get better, that I was just a failure and I had to stick with it.

I can't really say when did the change happen, I'd say it'd be somewhere between this summer.

When my depression started, I stopped going to school, like just skipping entirely. My teacher would send me the exams to my house and I barely passed these last 3 years. I would always tell myself 'I'll do it tommorrow ' and never start. I don't even know how I passed those years and I've wondered if they just felt pity for me.

I have barely socialized or hanged out with friends either, the only thing I did was using discord.

However, some months ago I started going to art classes, I barely talk wih people there and we just draw, but this was a huge step for me since I hadn't talk with anyone outside of my family during these years.

I also tried being more nice to my siblings and their friends, and it just feels better, like a weight I didn't know I had on my shoulder.

I even started studying and planning for my future again! I am even considering getting a part time job to get out of my comfort zone!

I decided to make this post after I got some of my grades from school, I study online since last year, but it was just now that I started putting effort.

Seeing that I got good grades just reminded me of how happy I used to be whenever I got a 10/10 on my exams. It was something I didn't know I missed.

I know I still have a long way to go, but seeing these little improvements make me so happy I just had to share it, it feels stupid, but it means the world to me.

I just thinking, because in my country theres a lot of good "radio dramas" called "słuchowiska", and the hearing ambients and musics and actors playing the sounds "movies" are getting me more enjoyed than watching just videos and getting brainroted with pixels. Did someone know the add for youtube or other site just for sounds and radiodramas? I know theres spotify, but theres a lot of ai over there, without radio dramas, and not too much of podcast in my language, and if they are, they just about politics shit.

I prefer only hear the internet, maybe because its less brainroted for me, and the default state is working more in my brain then just watching changing colorful pixels.

Sry for language, non english speaker here...

I only wanted to look at stuff from marketplace or look at rooms for rent. However I made the mistake of scrolling down the homepage , which shows me a bunch of sexist content that I didn't follow. And racist content too. Now I am thinking of deleting the account but it is so hard to sell shit on any other site . Anybody on here ended up creating a Facebook for the same reason and now regret it?

ive been using a flip phone the last few months with high success ad I', free from scrolling but, I noticed everyone else in the office are big scrollers. I honestly need a break from work for like 3 minutes every so often. It's socially acceptable for people at work to scroll on their phones for 10-15 minutes but if I knit or read for 5, well, I can't do that at my office job. What can I possibly do at work to give my brain a rest from working for a few minutes. I thought about getting fidget toys or a tomagatchi just something small to occupy my brain

Thanks!

Very often I will find myself watching a yt video on a topic I find interesting and the content itself will feel so entry- and surface level. It feels to me like very little research is made during the production of these videos. I want to watch them to find out more and not have what I already know reiterated to me. There are exceptions to this ofc but the majority of what I click on ends up disappointing me. It feels like it wastes my time with a promise of something new and interesting and ends before any of this is delivered.

Does anyone else have this issue or is it just what I get shown?

It’s been around a month since I quit most social media and I have to say I’m quite disappointed.

I did the thing properly, and I have been doing a dopamine detox. I’ve deleted TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube. Removed reels from instagram with timecap (so technically I still have it, but can only check my friends posts 5 min per day). Using my phone in black and white as well (this made a huge difference and it made my phone feel unattractive to use)

I think that the annoying part is that I’m quite bored. My friends are always busy so we can’t see each other often and when they share memes I feel left out. Books are still not that interesting. The only good thing has been that my attention span feels better and I can focus more easily. Any advice? I know that maybe it’s just too early, but I thought things would be better by now

so three weeks ago i started limiting my screen time before bed, i forced myself to stop using my phone and pc three hours before bedtime, the first week was fine, i studied the first hour then the two other hours i spent them crocheting, but at week two i got burned out of crochet and i couldnt find anything to do before sleeping, i kinda got back to using my phone until i slept, now i want to stop using my phone before bed but i all the other stuff i could be doing takes so much effort to do at that hour

give me any activity that wont require any tech and is low effort