The internet killed my mind. And I'm not alone.

[joypistols974@aol.com]

I'm sure you guys and gals will relate to what my covid+exam-exhausted brain has made me want to write here. I'm absolutely positive the internet killed my mind, my creativity, my desire to learn and my will to gain bright, exciting knowledge.

I grew up in a digitilizing Western Europe in the turn of the century. The internet was definetely part of our lives, but it wasn't our lives. I remember almost everytime my dad gave me access to the computer. I used to play flash games with him along with Lego CD-ROMS. I was 13 when I registered on Facebook, only after lurking some forums and goofing around for what was most likely an hour a week. At first, Facebook wasn't a big deal. I got told off by my parents when they found out I was using it, but it didn't quite interest me at the time.

Everything changed when I turned 16. I got caught in the dopamine loop because all my friends organized stuff via messenger and Facebook groups. It wasn't that I wanted to be there, but I had to. Literally every social hobby I've developped since then was started or accelerated by the extensive use of Facebook. When I got a girlfriend, it got even worse. I can't count the fucking hours I've lost texting her from early 17 to late 18 years old. Facebook isn't enough. I now need my daily dose of >reddit, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube. I've chosen every word carefully. I fucking need my dose. Just like a drug. The few first sips of Internet, and especially 2.0 Internet, make you feel like you're this rainbow dancing frog gif, but after a while you're just a doomer zombie like everyone else in this society.

Apart from taking my time, a definite large chunk of my youth, it also took its toll on my actual brain. I feel so sluggish, so terribly lame and uninterested at everything. My current girlfriend has ADHD and it's even worse for her. Everything is designed to kill our spark and destroy our willpower. I have to actively think of not using social media to stop using them for a few hours. I am absolutely positive that I have been thoroughly corrupted by the internet, from my optimistic and brilliant youth to this mess of an adulthood.

The only thing that makes me sigh of relief is that I never got hooked on my phone. Whenever I'm outside of my home, I'm a human again. Fortunately, I'm not yet like all those people who can't stand waiting 10 minutes for a train without plugging their brain to the ever-scrolling ever-pathetic nonsensical feed of fake happiness created by social media.

PS: Another feeling is growing strong inside me and makes me want to put an end to all this bullshit. The next class divide will not only be artificial barriers such as cultural capital and the way school is engineered, it will be a cognitive one. See how rich scumbags prevent their children from using tech devices? See how poorer people buy an iPhone first, books second (if ever)? It is happening. The elites are making people's children dumber on purpose. Soon it'll be impossible to defend equality since humans will not be potentially equal anymore. We will have to deal with a mentally-impaired working class and a comparatively superior ruling class.

 

[Deleted member 3578]

Oh yeah, the internet totally sludges your brain. My advice is to will interest in other things. You don't even need to be creative, you just need to appreciate things.

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

Oh yeah, the internet totally sludges your brain. My advice is to will interest in other things. You don't even need to be creative, you just need to appreciate things.

This is what I'm trying to express in my penultimate paragraph about smartphones. I'm grateful the outside world still looks like a tangible space to me.

 

[Deleted member 3578]

This is what I'm trying to express in my penultimate paragraph about smartphones. I'm grateful the outside world still looks like a tangible space to me.

I will also recommend books. Pages and paper unlock a sweet spot for me. And I'm not a big reader - but when I get into a novel reading groove it's fun as hell!

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

I will also recommend books. Pages and paper unlock a sweet spot for me. And I'm not a big reader - but when I get into a novel reading groove it's fun as hell!

I am currently reading Emile Zola's entire bibliography and I've a few other books to finish. Unfortunately I struggle to read anytime other than just before sleeping or while taking the train.

 

[Deleted member 3578]

I am currently reading Emile Zola's entire bibliography and I've a few other books to finish. Unfortunately I struggle to read anytime other than just before sleeping or while taking the train.

the time in my life where I got the most reading done was when I was busing for 3 hours a day for work. I read like, 20 philip k dick novels and Gravity's Rainbow. It ruled except for the fucking shitty busses.

 

[SomaSpice]

I really feel you. This amount of stimulus is not healthy nor normal. The great things in life aren't based on instant feedback loops, rather they're slow, monotonous changes of state. I, rather romantically, like to think of it like the seasons slowly bleeding from one form to another. You date someone, which slowly becomes love, which slowly becomes marriage, which slowly becomes family. You're a novice, and then you're an adept, and without realizing it you become an expert or even a master after toiling for years on end. This is not a pace that we modern people can tolerate at all, but that's the natural rhythm of things.

While its absolute garbage to be raised as a dopamine junkie, and it takes a lot of willpower to pull oneself apart from the pleasures that the internet affords, it also makes for a huge oportunity. Most people out there are becoming brain dead degens, so imagine how valuable one can become if you do the opposite. Besides, if you can produce good shit that stands out the rewards are exponenciated because of all the interconnectivty. I've been personally trying to strike a balance on reaping the rewards of the net while not being consumed by it. Shit's hard, lmao.

Anyways you're not alone in your sentiment. I think all we can do right now is try to pull ourselves apart from the machine and try to become strong enough to secure a comfortable future for us and those we love.

 

[consonant]

i feel this, when i end up actually going onto a social media site i usually end up scrolling like a drone still.
i'd recommend not logging into some social media, because they make it really hard for you to browse if you're not logged in. you could probably break your habits because of how annoying it'll be to be on the site.
also try to find some productive hobbies and even if you do still scroll like a zombie you have some balance.

 

[Hoshi]

Bit of a tangent incoming but here goes: The internet as it is structured today is not what it was designed for. It is no longer about free expression of the exchange of ideas on a world wide web. It's been corrupted into endless dopamine loops via clickbait, outrage, and the most easily accessible pornography in the history of humanity. All of this is intentional and is part of commodifying human beings into corporate serfs. You like what this content creator is saying? Subscribe to their patreon or send a few superchats. Like that big tiddy goth hoe you saw on the internet? Subscribe to her onlyfans and she'll give you the time of day and larp as your gf. Like that news article? Swipe that credit card to get past the pay wall to read the next article. Being a digital paypig is becoming normalized. I remember a time when I was told to never volunteer financial information to random people online but now people cough up their cash to e-grifters just because they like to hear their biases confirmed in real time. It is not healthy for the human soul to experience all of this on such a mass scale. The fact that most people are oblivious to this should be extremely concerning.

To OP: I recommend trying your best to unplug from the internet little by little and begin seeking out irl hobbies. How about try something you've never done but always wanted to do? Like you I was once hooked on those mainline sites but I stopped giving a shit about Facebook because it was clearly making me depressed. I stopped using >reddit years ago because it's retarded and doesn't value opinions that stray from their accepted narratives. Youtube is perhaps the most difficult to give up but they've been becoming another version of >reddit for a while now by having a handful of pre-selected appropriate opinions on certain topics.

 

[Chao Tse-Tung]

Profit-over-People turns our brains into consumerist mush, and those who resist end up stuck in the hell-loop of trying to break free and being dragged back in by any form of socialization. People think you're weird if you don't use normie social media. People struggle to contact you if you prefer calls over texting. People will genuinely not enjoy spending time with you when you don't join them in the semi-social doomscroll. Sam Hyde said it best in 2070 Paradigm Shift-- "Culture is a sewer."

 

[Aral]

We are probably the same age or not much apart, and I'm a fellow western euro. I often wonder about how I'd be if the internet hadn't been here, or if I hadn't spent my teen years being addicted to it. From ages 13-18 I was straight. fucking. up. addicted. to the point of losing sleep. Fortunately I've remained extremely creative, because that's in my personality, and I didn't become dumb as bricks (or if I am, I can't tell). I can't say I've ever been addicted to social media either, I tried to be part of the normies but never could, but I do have issues with dopamine, can't help but see it. I noticed I tend to stay in front of the laptop a lot or just open, then close tabs, check stuff endlessly even without interest, and feel weird when I am not stimulated like, no music, nothing playing in the background. Sometimes I listen to half a song then select another and another and just want to listen to my favourite parts, not the full song. It scares me each time. I've never been an overly social person (rather, not found many people I like enough for that, and the times I did, I got let down like crazy), I hate the place I've been living in for a decade and I see no way out since well you know, there's absolutely nothing meaningful in this joke of a society, you study uninteresting propaganda (sorta optional) then work a bullshit job and you die and I'd rather stay home a bit longer than straight up jump into something that'll make me suicidal again, so basically my life is mostly lived online. If I was in a better environment, I'd have friends and maybe a gf/bf, but right now... just no. And even if I did, wouldn't they be addicted to social media like 90% of people? A few years back, in my only year of college, people always had their phones on the table. I did the same to fit in but it always puzzled me that they'd reply to texts when WITH FRIENDS. Like wtf, are you with your friend or with the person that texts you?? so, honestly, I have no idea if I'll ever have any other viable option. I feel double bound sorta. It's sad.

Our generation is an unfortunate one. We were not only born in a world that the previous generations completely fucked, we also inherited their just as fucked, but at the same time innovative and powerfully useful inventions. We are blessed and cursed at the same time. Our generation has no sense of duty at all, they're all about consumerism, it's like marriage and family is dead (been called "naive" for wanting to have the typical housewife life with a husband/wife and possibly kids, rather than be the Strong Independent Woman (tm) who is super career-oriented and sluts around), everyone hates each other or finds fault with each other, being sorta dependent on others is seen as a weakness when it's actually how we are wired to live, a lot of our parents kept us inside in fear of pedos and child killers while it's actually an extreme rarity, our food has sugar literally everywhere, I could just go on and on about how we were born in "the best time to be alive", but is it really? It may be physically the best time to be alive, but psychologically, I'd say it's the worst. We don't have a war waging at our borders. People are constantly bullying each other and withholding affection, as well as chasing some illusory popularity instead of taking care of their loved ones and being attentive to what really matters.

The only thing that makes me sigh of relief is that I never got hooked on my phone. Whenever I'm outside of my home, I'm a human again. Fortunately, I'm not yet like all those people who can't stand waiting 10 minutes for a train without plugging their brain to the ever-scrolling ever-pathetic nonsensical feed of fake happiness created by social media.

Can relate so much. My phone rots in a drawer unless I want to send an audio/video message on telegram. I never take it outside with me. I like having my walkman outside though because music helps me create, but it's nowhere near as addictive as a phone can be on most people. When in the car with mum, we can't help but notice how so many people text while driving. Like what the fucking hell is happening. When I walk on the street I see so many people with the eyes on their phones. What the hell happened? What's wrong with people that they are literally the slaves of a little screen? Why do they even sleep with it? Why do they bring it everywhere? "oh but if you need to call" dude, it's extremely rare to need to call. Half of the time whatever is texted isn't even urgent and can wait until you go home. In case of emergency there's always a stranger or a shop nearby.

PS: Another feeling is growing strong inside me and makes me want to put an end to all this bullshit. The next class divide will not only be artificial barriers such as cultural capital and the way school is engineered, it will be a cognitive one. See how rich scumbags prevent their children from using tech devices? See how poorer people buy an iPhone first, books second (if ever)? It is happening. The elites are making people's children dumber on purpose. Soon it'll be impossible to defend equality since humans will not be potentially equal anymore. We will have to deal with a mentally-impaired working class and a comparatively superior ruling class.

Haven't thought about this like that, but your theory is... scarily plausible. The poor buying iphones (and getting in severe debt in the process) first of all or a big TV always puzzled me. Like, isn't food the priority? Decent food, decent quality clothing for you and the kids, household utilities... but naaaaah, iphone!! It's so freaking infuriating to see that. I'll never understand those people's logic, or how they even come to think that a phone is more important than their actual physical needs. I've read somewhere that more people in the world own a smartphone than proper toilets and it frankly freaks me out.

I'm with you. Like all of us here. We can get better, we are already better by going on Agora rather than scroll in that... empty space filled with empty meaningless bullshit and whatever hollow stuff people feel the need to boast about.

 

[the-dude-abides]

This is what I'm trying to express in my penultimate paragraph about smartphones. I'm grateful the outside world still looks like a tangible space to me.

I would have my phone shut off 23 out of 24 hours of the day if I wasn't required to use it for my job during the day. I hate it.

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

Guys, this little thread is literally the most meaningful exchange I've had on the internet with strangers for years. That fact alone shows that social media are fucked up on so many levels. I'm part of countless groups, connecting with hundreds of absolute strangers from other countries and cultures everyday and YET NOTHING even remotely as argumented as this conversation happens, ever. It's a shame really

 

[MrFiredragon613]

Its not necessarily the internet. Its just how some people use the internet. The internet is a beautiful thing. Its the culmination of pretty much all public knowledge humans have ever found. If you use the internet to better yourself, and learn, then its a good thing. Now on the contrary, it is also extremely dangerous, and full of dopamine traps scientifically designed with the sole purpose of keeping you on. That is where most people fall. They fall into the psychologically engineered traps of tik tok, twitter, Instagram, etc doom scrolling. That Is bad for you. That will 100 percent take a toll on anyone after a while. Its hard to stay out of those traps, and its getting harder, but if you can, the internet is a beautiful place. This forum is proof of that. What I fear for is the day that it becomes impossible. When every online site is just either a or >reddit or Instagram. Hopefully that day never comes. Unfortunately corporate greed seems to know no bounds.

"But are you sure? Doing this will inevitably cause severe mental distress to millions of people and turn the rest into brainless zombies..."

"I DONT CARE!! DOUBLE THE LENGTH OF THE ADS AND MAKE SURE THAT THERES TWO OF THEM BACK TO BACK SO THAT YOU CANT SKIP!"

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

Its not necessarily the internet. Its just how some people use the internet. The internet is a beautiful thing. Its the culmination of pretty much all public knowledge humans have ever found. If you use the internet to better yourself, and learn, then its a good thing. Now on the contrary, it is also extremely dangerous, and full of dopamine traps scientifically designed with the sole purpose of keeping you on. That is where most people fall. They fall into the psychologically engineered traps of tik tok, twitter, Instagram, etc doom scrolling. That Is bad for you. That will 100 percent take a toll on anyone after a while. Its hard to stay out of those traps, and its getting harder, but if you can, the internet is a beautiful place. This forum is proof of that. What I fear for is the day that it becomes impossible. When every online site is just either a or >reddit or Instagram. Hopefully that day never comes. Unfortunately corporate greed seems to know no bounds.

"But are you sure? Doing this will inevitably cause severe mental distress to millions of people and turn the rest into brainless zombies..."

"I DONT CARE!! DOUBLE THE LENGTH OF THE ADS AND MAKE SURE THAT THERES TWO OF THEM BACK TO BACK SO THAT YOU CANT SKIP!"

Absolutely, I didn't mean TBL's Internet, just what's been made of it by fucking corporations and fucking capitalism (or state capitalism, looking at you Tiktok)

 

[MrFiredragon613]

Absolutely, I didn't mean TBL's Internet, just what's been made of it by fucking corporations and fucking capitalism (or state capitalism, looking at you Tiktok)

Oh yeah you're def right. Tik Tok especially is a corporate chinese monstrosity.

 

[lingo]

I remember having to work so hard to get my friends to actually meet up in real life because they spent most of their time indoors fucking around in skype calls

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

I remember having to work so hard to get my friends to actually meet up in real life because they spent most of their time indoors fucking around in skype calls

This. We don't even hang out on the streets for fuck's sake.

 

[lingo]

This. We don't even hang out on the streets for fuck's sake.

i can't even imagine what its like for younger people, the internets been even bigger in their lives than mine

 

[joypistols974@aol.com]

i can't even imagine what its like for younger people, the internets been even bigger in their lives than mine

I'm in my twenties, and I see younger ppl because of uni. Basically people only gather to drink