Addicted to Distraction

Yeah I'd like to check it out!

You should. I've had the same problem - subconsciously re-loading a site I've recently visited, realizing there is little/no new content on the front page, getting frustrated, and diving deeper in the hope of finding new tidbits.

By the time the cycle is done I've found nothing of value and wasted 3x the time normally spent.

That's such an awesome idea. I'd love to check it out.

Please do post!

Out of curiosity, what did you use to extract the text content of the page? Was it based around html, or did you actually compare the topical content?

If critical mass is what you need to github it, please do. I am also interested.

Thanks!

> When I see the browser redirect away while trying to load reddit.com, my rational side takes over and reminds me that I should be done with tidbit-seeking.

I've tried something similar, except when I see the browser redirect away while trying to load reddit.com, my hacker mindset kicks in and I try to find ways to bypass it. Finding ways to bypass the limitations is far more distracting (and interesting) to me than the site itself.

My motivation systems are screwy and hard to work around. I wish I could say I found a less radical solution than "disable wifi in the bios while I'm working", but I'd be lying.

Not a chrome extension, but in the same vein of limiting distractions: https://github.com/amoffat/focus

It's a proxy DNS server that runs locally, and based on user-defined rules (which can be anything that can be described with code), will limit your access to websites.

I was thinking of making an alternative that just checks how long it's been since you visited that page. If you visited Facebook/Reddit/Etc. in the last 1-4 hours, you shouldn't be visiting it again, regardless of whether Facebook updated the content.

PS - Can you share your extension on the Chrome store, even before you clean up the code for Github?

I've been fighting this kind of thing for decades now (it started with Usenet), and when reading this and stuff like the Shallows...

This is going to be a huge health problem ten years from now (it must be already the largest productivity killer in the workplace), and great solutions for this will be profitable some day.

I may be misunderstanding, but isn't this like a heavy drinker having the bartender put more water than beer in his glass when he heads to the local pub? This doesn't seem to be treating the actual issue at hand (lack of self control, lack of training of the mind, etc.) is what I'm getting at. Not meaning to crap on your build, as it certainly seems cool. Maybe this could be viewed as a training tool, but only if it's part of a larger strategy.

Is your extension available for download?

Please do let me know too if you publish it. Also, please seriously consider publishing it even without/before cleaning up. TIA!

> It's not unusual in my circles that kids are both playing football, taking piano lessons, learning french on top of their school and homework. I believe this is fundamentally the wrong approach as it only teaches kids to skate over a subject rather than master one in full.

True, although on the other hand that's the best time to experiment what you'll potentially like and perhaps even base your interests and/or career on.

Its market forces that created this condition.

I remember reading about this expert - he spent 20 years becoming an expert on blade design for aircraft engines.

We need more people like that but its hard to think what incentives we provide to people to chug through grad school. Its only in countries like germany where such incentives exists - in the anglosphere - its up to the parents.

There are obvious problems with that model - the thing is you need both - a lot of generalists and an equally large number of specialists for society to function.

But given how centrally we try to control everything its always one or the other rather a mixed bag.

I teach basic maths to adults mainly but also a couple of classes of teenagers in a further education college in the UK - the US equivalent is called a community college I believe.

This year, I won the timetabling lottery and got classes with fine art, graphics, fashion and media students.

Usual distractions (phones: Facebook, various instant messaging services &c). I gave each student a simple cardboard document wallet to keep finished work in and suggested that they put their name on the wallet and 'customise' it.

Silence: focussed activity for 15mins. I carry a box with a couple of sets of Sharpies of various colours plus Muji pens and pencils. Grabbed and distributed in a coordinated Mexican wave. Seriously, the full Csikszentmihalyi flow.

Now I have to find a way of channelling that into Maths... I'm taking Tufte's books in next week to see what happens.

TD;LR Digital natives can concentrate when they want to.

>It's not unusual in my circles that kids are both playing football, taking piano lessons, learning french on top of their school and homework.

We are filling our kid's time with all these structured activities to "enrich" their lives. To give them a leg up in the adult world. To make them smarter and well rounded. We fill our houses with a whole bunch of "enriching" toys.

This is extremely misguided.

The majority of a child's free time should be self directed. They need to experience boredom for proper development. Only in boredom do kids learn to be creative and process their thoughts in a meaningful way. They learn to live with the anxiety boredom creates and channel it into new ideas.

Micromanaging their lives leads to very poorly adjusted and anxious adults. I am very sad when I see car trip filled with iPads and TVs. Kids need to learn how to deal with the boredom of car rides and sit quietly with their thoughts.

Structured activities are great in moderation.

*Adults actually require boredom as well but it is especially valuable for the rapidly developing brains that kids have.

There is evidence from studies of youth sports that specialization at a young age can actually be detrimental to adult outcomes:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3658407/

If you meet a professional athlete you'll understand firsthand what drawbacks there are to spending your first 2 decades super specialising.

Another view on this is that being exposed to different concepts and ways of thinking increases perspective and creativity. All of the things you mentioned as examples (football, playing piano and learning a language) all use very different modes of thought and activate different parts of the brain. It seems like the majority of people would really benefit from that diversity of experience.

> I believe this is fundamentally the wrong approach as it only teaches kids to skate over a subject rather than master one in full.

Reminds me of this Rich Hickey piece:

https://gist.github.com/prakhar1989/1b0a2c9849b2e1e912fb

The CBT approach would have it that, for some ope to fix the symptomatic behaviours of the depression would go some way to managing the depression itself. I'm currently testing that.

I'd be willing to bet that a significant majority of "internet addiction" (are people still talking about that ?) or "game addiction" is actually just a symptom of depression.

It's very easy though to procrastinate when in 'command' of a web browser.

Removing the device removes the temptation.

Typically I can be in the middle of something else, sit down in front of the laptop to quickly check the news or something, and end up walking away from it a few hours later. It's very easy to get sucked in. I guess I'm weak minded.

Yes and no. The typical distractions trigger dopamine releases without any effort. When your brain gets satisfied with its current level, you need more and more. Your brain gets desensitized, which causes the anxiety and depression. Soon, real life isn't enough, you need the extra stimulation.

http://www.abdada.com/the-low-reward-to-high-reward-guide/

This realization came to me when I was taking a coursera class and had to keep surfing while listening to the lectures. That's when I started using the pomodoro technique and it's been helping me since!

It's a self-reinforcing habit too, your fingers eventually start typing the URL/start the app without thinking.

> rings true

I see what you did there.

I am addicted to hn. Reddit, and FB just make me depressed. While I like hn, I can't spend more than 30 minutes on it. It then starts to depress me. Maybe I'm depressed?

Tell me. I've just sit in front of my computer saying "well, I'll write those test cases for my side project".

Yet, I'm here, replying to you.

Quiet contemplation. That thing you used to do when you got an early night, that may have helped your brain get into order, or possibly aroused the senses, and led to panic.

My partner monopolises the main living space, and always switches the TV on. She's out with the tablet and surfing in seconds. I don't have a mobile internet device at hand. So it can feel lonely and desolate. Once I also pulled out my laptop alongside the telly. So do get it. It does feel rude if one sided. Especially when you are left watching some crap that you wouldn't put on yourself. I could fetch my book, but I find it difficult to read while the telly is on. One day I might challenge her to a conversation.

I enjoy space and silence. In the garden I can just stand and listen for an hour or so at a time. I'm almost completely vacant. It feels good, but I'm not sure if it is good for the brain.

My take on multitasking is that it mostly doesn't work, at least not for cognitive activities. But, I guess it depends on your definition of "multitasking" and "working/not working".

There are, perhaps, some activities which most people can multitask at - such as, driving a routine route while carrying on a light conversation. (But even that might distract from one or the other) But try something more complex - such as even trying to carry on a simple conversation while driving in an unfamiliar area or when you're lost - and quickly you'll find you can only focus on one thing at a time.

So, my sweeping generalization of people surfing and talking simultaneously is that if the two activities are very unrelated, (different topics) it's likely far less attention is being paid to each than the level of attention you're giving to reading your single article.

Anyone who thinks they are a good multi-tasker is disillusioned. Multi-tasking requires context loading and unloading, which always seem to have some challenges associated with it that are less than obvious. Don't sweat it. Being able to focus on one thing is a gift!

Don't dissmiss the act of learning through conversation. Keep in mind that the likelihood of you being surrounded by likeminded people is pretty slim. HN allow you to discuss and explore some more eccentric thoughts you won't be able to necessarily find an audience of places like Facebook.

quickly switching from topic to topic is a lot more exhausting

> This isn't a real addiction. And it trivializes what addicts actually go through. This is demonstrated being that it was possible for the author to replace the "higher power" of the 12 steps with someone to unplug the Internet router.

Just like it is possible to fix alcoholism by having someone remove alcohol from the house and gambling by having someone prevent the gambler from walking into a casino.

If using the internet in a harmful way (eg. spending six hours a day reloading 9gag, FB, slashdot or whatever up to the point where it hinders your normal activities), how is it different from alcoholism or gambling?

I kind of agree with this, but having recovered myself, I've found that addiction is more than just your drug of choice, it manifests itself in all sorts of little things. People find they quit drinking and then realize they've been compulsively shopping or eating. The same basic mechanism is the same and I think the author nails what it is: a cognitive-behavioral loop one has difficulty getting out of primarily because your brain is overvaluing the short-term over the long term for just long enough to engage in the cycle and strengthen the compulsion. Of course there's physical addiction, but not everyone likes that distinction. That is certainly powerful, but it's powerful to the extent that it makes the psychological addiction that much stronger, by having these very immediate responses with a clear behavioral solution (use your drug of choice).

There are people with really severe addictions, sure. In rehab there was no shortage of people who had to be monitored 24/7 and medicated because suddenly stopping their drug could actually kill them. There were others who were not as desperate. But I think it really is the same underlying phenomenon: substance abuse as well as gambling or some people who overeat or whatever else people typically need to go to rehab for - those addictions simply are greater and tend to have worse impact on a person's life. I was in rehab for alcohol having already quit every other drug at that point (causing my precariously balanced array of simultaneous addictions to cause one of them to dive head-first into the ground) and I wouldn't say that my addiction was the same as the heroin or cocaine addicts' problems. It simply was not in the same class, so I think there's already a recognition that everyone's addiction is different and unique to them.

Also, fuck, I'm clearly addicted to internet distraction. I'm writing this post instead of finishing my research paper.

Why do you think addiction is real only if it's extreme?

I disagree. Addiction is defined as: "a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)." Do you not put phone/internet usage into that category? In a 2-hour drive this morning I had three near-accidents all because of the drivers on their phones. Ask the average American 30-year-old to avoid their phone for 24 hours straight and that will be a significantly difficult task, one that actually causes physical reactions not too dissimilar from drug withdrawals. Not all addiction results in hopes of death.

>This is demonstrated being that it was possible for the author to replace the "higher power" of the 12 steps with someone to unplug the Internet router.

And an alcoholic could just stop buying booze. Not so easy, right?

(Of course alcoholism is in a different league, physical dependence and alcohol withdrawal syndrome are no walk in the park.)