Internet as distraction

[Upekkha]

Do you guys find the internet as a major source of distraction in your life?

On one hand, it is a blessing due to the endless information (or misinformation) it provides. On the other hand, I find that it distracts me from focusing on the things that I want to focus on; ie studies. Throughout the day, my mind will be moving in a million different directions and encounter various questions that I need to find the answer to so I will jot them down on a piece of scrap paper. When I get home, I will proceed to investigate these questions on the internet which just branches out into 14 different other things that I start to look up. Before I know it, hours have passed and I have to attend to concrete affairs of life and miss out on the things that I desire to focus on. This seems like a never ending theme. I want to apply myself to certain things more deeply but something will pop up in my head, lure me to google, and I'm lost in the ceaseless tangential "research" of other arbitrary things.

Maybe I need stricter control of my constant desire to investigate via "the internets." I dunno. It is definitely a source of frustration for me and holds me back from single-pointed focus on gaining expertise in specific areas of studies.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

It is typical extraverted intuition that E/INTP's have. What happens is that you are dragged into the seemingly endless ocean of information, where no clear directions are present and any place is favourable.

As much as I would like to be immersed in this state of being, it simply is detrimental after you start losing the information you gather. Simply, the amount of information you can store for later use is very small unless you organise it in bookmarks, downloads etc.

I tend to direct my pursuit at things, that I will later incorporate in my actions and life, because with every use I memorise this information and this way I improve my productivity.

You could think about several categories and organise your life.

Select a category of mundane matters, that need to be done regardless of your other desires.

Category of things that you want to achieve and some actions that consistently expand and bring you closer to this, like practice, or studying.

Random stuff.

The thing with random stuff is that, it doesn't matter how much time you spend, you are not going to use most of the information you find this way, unless you organise it and connect it to the more relevant things. Also what you can find is that certain things are more interesting than others, or simply more important.

If you can spend a whole day pursuing random matters, you could as well immerse yourself in the endless information from your field of study. If you are able to do this, it then requires some structure so that you learn, excercise and develop instead of just experiencing and forgetting things.

If you would find that you cannot attend to the important matters in your life because of this, it might be a sign that something is wrong with your discipline and control over this process. This process helps you when you actually have direction and preferences to control it, otherwise it is like being high.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

It depends on whether or not you value what it's distracting you from. Some drug addicts become addicts because they believe the drugs provide them with a more accurate depiction of reality.

You're valuing some pursuits over others. I see no problem with this.

 

[BigApplePi]

De-conditioning

Yes the internet is seductive. It can send you out in all sorts of directions where you discover lack of value. Here is a solution I take ... and we can call it, "de-conditioning." Pick something you would like to pursue on the internet. Note what it is and then don't do it. You have now taken the first step to turning it off. Let time pass. Remember what it was and then make a new judgment as to its value. If it continues to have questionable value, don't do it. This is the 2nd step to turning it off. Of course don't do this with something you know you must do because other important things require you do it.

If at any time you slip up, remember the rules. You can start over anytime. I will guess this process can be applied to any addiction.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

It depends on whether or not you value what it's distracting you from. Some drug addicts become addicts because they believe the drugs provide them with a more accurate depiction of reality.

To expand on the drug abuse analogy... I think some people are naturally prone to the distraction: low attention span, pleasure-seeking, habit-forming etc. If you are serious about it I think getting some help with the neurological/psychological cause would be more beneficial than just quitting or moderating internet use.



In a more general sense I think right now is a difficult transitional period for the generation that grew up with the internet('80s-'00s). Of course to some extent it is about moderation in the individual, but you can't deny the ever growing importance of the internet in modern industry and society. While humans are being subconsciously coerced into accepting the internet and computerization into every aspect of their lives, at the same time performance in day-to-day occupational work and institutional education are not so compatible, at least not yet.

 

[Goku]

I guess you must ask yourself what you truly desire from life, and when you're having this imaginary conversation with yourself, make sure yourself is being honest with yourself.

 

[PmjPmj]

The internet has been ruining my productivity since '01.

 

[Invisible Jellyfish]

It really is a distraction to me right now since I should be doing research (on MBTI, by the way).
But... other than that? No, I don't think so. Since I don't usually have anything to do except study - meaning, the Internet is nice place to continue to build my knowledge. So I don't see it as a bother.

--- first post in english language since last year. ha. <___<

 

[Jennywocky]

I need to actually create set boundaries for my forum surfing, in the near future because I'm seeing without them, I don't work on things I want to accomplish (like writing).

It might be to the degree that I turn off my Internet connection so I can write on my laptop, to avoid getting distracted.

The internet has been ruining my productivity since '01.

Since '92-93 for me... or whenever the "Internet" existed as the actual Internet (I was on AOL for a few years around there before the WWW really had a lot on it). But pretty much computers in general since '85-86.

 

[pernoctator]

It is typical extraverted intuition that E/INTP's have. What happens is that you are dragged into the seemingly endless ocean of information, where no clear directions are present and any place is favourable.

As much as I would like to be immersed in this state of being, it simply is detrimental after you start losing the information you gather. Simply, the amount of information you can store for later use is very small unless you organise it in bookmarks, downloads etc.

I used to use this thing, which gave me the illusion that I could keep track of all the branching threads of research. I could collapse a branch and move to another, assured that I could go back and follow it again later (all tabs were saved across browsing sessions). In the end it only encouraged me to accumulate even more unfinished work, making me more overwhelmed and depressed on realizing that I wouldn't be able to reach it all.

 

[PmjPmj]

Since '92-93 for me... or whenever the "Internet" existed as the actual Internet (I was on AOL for a few years around there before the WWW really had a lot on it). But pretty much computers in general since '85-86.

Ha, AOL. I have fond memories of being wowed by a friend's 14k internet connection, slowly but surely loading into their (AOL's) terrible UI. Those were the days. Or not.

Back in '92 / '93, I was getting to grips with my first ever gaming platform and a certain blue hedgehog who has a penchant for golden rings. I was only about 7 back then; I had no idea what the heck a PC was.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I used to use this thing, which gave me the illusion that I could keep track of all the branching threads of research. I could collapse a branch and move to another, assured that I could go back and follow it again later (all tabs were saved across browsing sessions). In the end it only encouraged me to accumulate even more unfinished work, making me more overwhelmed and depressed on realizing that I wouldn't be able to reach it all.

Yes, Ne makes you take on more problems and open issues that you can possibly handle. This is good if you select something from a broad range and don't care about other things being neglected.

Organisation gives and illusion that you are in a position to deal with the stuff, but it simply means that you know how much is waiting.
Also the process of organising and clearing out might then become a distraction.

This is why even when doing bookmarks or selecting stuff, it is useful to organise it into the basic: life-importance, fulfillment-importance, random. Also if OP is unable to sufficiently deal with the first, while focusing on the second, then there is a concentration/motivational issue most likely and there should be some professional advice or something else to cut the random and dreaming and go back to the basics.

 

[Jennywocky]

Ha, AOL. I have fond memories of being wowed by a friend's 14k internet connection, slowly but surely loading into their (AOL's) terrible UI. Those were the days. Or not.

Back in '92 / '93, I was getting to grips with my first ever gaming platform and a certain blue hedgehog who has a penchant for golden rings. I was only about 7 back then; I had no idea what the heck a PC was.

AOL. Lol. "You've got MAIL." By later in that decade, those install CDs were all over the workplace tables and counters like bunnies mating. So cray. Are they really still around?

Yeah, it was de early days of ze IBM-compat. I had just gotten my first job out of college in fall 1990 and bought my first computer in May 1991, I think -- it was a 286 ibm compatible (12Mhz? don't remember). I might have splurged for a VGA vidcard, and I did upgrade the 20Mb hard drive to 40Mb. With the 12" CRT monitor, it cost me over $1200... but I was happy because I could play "Heroes Quest / Do You want to Be a Hero" and "King's Quest whatever" on it. The $1200 was a steal because I ordered it piecemeal and assembled a bit myself.

That hedgehog just doesn't die. I think it's funny the Flappy Birds guy was getting zinged on Super Mario Brothers (?); I was playing that on NES back in the mid/late 80's. That was actually almost 30 years ago, doh.

 

[PmjPmj]

AOL. Lol. "You've got MAIL." By later in that decade, those install CDs were all over the workplace tables and counters like bunnies mating. So cray.

Myself and friends used my (huge stockpile) as ninja-attack frisbees. Seriously, the whole street was littered with them. We displayed a shocking disregard for the cleanliness of our environment back then, I guess.

Yeah, the NES was a long time back. I'm an '85 child (29 this September).

Did you own a Sega Saturn at all? Hugely underrated imo - Nights and Burning Rangers were brilliant.

 

[Jennywocky]

Myself and friends used my (huge stockpile) as ninja-attack frisbees. Seriously, the whole street was littered with them. We displayed a shocking disregard for the cleanliness of our environment back then, I guess.

That's awesome. Certainly there were worse uses for them... like actually logging into AOL. What a pit.

Did you own a Sega Saturn at all? Hugely underrated imo - Nights and Burning Rangers were brilliant.

No, I couldn't really afford them (I paid for my own for the NES, and I had an Atari before that, that my parents had bought me). I pretty much transitioned right into PC gaming and never looked back.

I do own a PS3 nowadays but I typically just use it play Blurays and still do my gaming on PC.

But I was actually playing games in arcades back then. It's one of the huge losses in the pop culture landscape, I think -- once the transition to home gaming occurred, well, the whole dynamic changed and no one could afford to spend thousands on a particular machine for their arcade since they wouldn't recoup the losses.

Arcades were so cool, it was the place to hang out when I was a teen, and you could play people you didn't know face to face although I guess nowadays people can find random partners online even if you never know who it is.

 

[PmjPmj]

To be fair, the Saturn was expensive. I think my grandma (who is win personified, still) paid about £550 for mine, but that came with Nights and the analogue pad. Most bestest birthday present ever, that - it blew my mind.

Arcades were indeed cool, but I caught the arse end of their lifespan. There are some here in the UK still; there's a huge shopping complex here in Manchester called the Trafford Centre. Occasionally myself and my friends go drinking there, paying a visit to the Namco arcade along the way. It's a bit shit compared to the arcades of yore, but it's ok after a few beverages.

Oh, and re: PC specs... yeah, I was late to the game: £1500 bought me a PIII 500, 128mb SD133 RAM, 32bit Nvidia TNT2 M64, 20gb HDD and a 17" CRT monitor. Back then, it was a bloody beast.

 

[TBerg]

Does the internet pull me away, or was I pushed by something else?

 

[r4ch3l]

Yes, it's something I have to watch. There was a period when I had saved up a lot of money and did not need to work while finishing my degree. I researched and read at least 10 hours a day, every day. I couldn't just read the material on my screen because then I couldn't scribble all over it and so now almost two years later I still have these giant stacks of marked up journal pdfs in my room that I am bizarrely attached to. I learned so much during this phase and it was very enjoyable but by the end of it I was very isolated and imbalanced. I just wanted to research random shit I was interested in forever. Re-entering society was hard.

These days it can be difficult to focus when I'm supposed to be working while on a computer all day. Getting a part-time job second job totally opposite of my primary job and getting up very early most days with a clear list of specific, small goals has helped.

I used to use this thing, which gave me the illusion that I could keep track of all the branching threads of research. I could collapse a branch and move to another, assured that I could go back and follow it again later (all tabs were saved across browsing sessions). In the end it only encouraged me to accumulate even more unfinished work, making me more overwhelmed and depressed on realizing that I wouldn't be able to reach it all.

Ha! I can relate. I get anxiety whenever I close a tab and also whenever I have so many open that I can visually see how absurd my sense of time and prioritization is. Right now I have 11 browser windows like like 8-12 tabs each. I think I would have a meltdown if I lost my bookmarks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX01xgSh1ZA

 

[Spirit]

I prefer the internet to cable TV or regular television. I have a strong desire to chase whatever I am thinking about. I find myself frustrated when I have to watch TV or listening to a radio station in my truck.

Internet saved me from wasting time on other peoples topics of interest by using regular media.

I have been known to remote desktop into my computer at work and have 8 or 9 tabs and two browsers searching multiple interests.