Strategies To Avoid Internet Addiction

If you or someone you know is dealing with internet addiction there are a few strategies you can use to avoid internet addiction

Internet addiction can have negative effects on your life. If you notice any sign of internet addiction, like spending too much time online or neglecting other activities, you should take action immediately. Here are some simple strategies you could implement to prevent internet addiction:

1. Identify your type of addiction:

Each type of internet addiction requires specific measures. Take notice of what you just can’t help to find irresistible. Do you find yourself neverendingly scrolling your social network feed? Or do you love to binge-watch series online?

Once you know what draws your attention you can start controlling your impulses. You can reshape a compulsory behavior into normal behavior, but you need to understand its causes.

2. Keep a record of how much time you spend online:

There are multiple ways of knowing how much time you spend online. Most smart devices track your internet use, but perhaps the easiest way of tracking your internet use is to install an application.

Once you know how much time you spend online you can set a limit.

3. Think about the lost opportunities:

Once you know for sure how much time do you spend online, think about all the productive things you could do or learn if you use this time productively. Think about this: if you spend 2 hours a day you could learn a new language in 8 months, if you spend 3 hours a day you could play guitar with ease in 6 months and, if you spend 4 hours a day you could learn to code in 3 months.

4. Set a maximum time online:

Some websites and apps are designed to have an infinite feed. That means that no matter how much time you spend scrolling you are not going run out of content. Besides, there are thousands if not millions of users uploading content at the same time on any given website. Thus, you are never going to catch up. Understanding this is key to learn how to self-control. Then, set a maximum time to go online and try to stick to your schedule.

5. Re-focus your attention:

Find something you want to learn or do and focus the time and energy you spend online to achieve that goal. It doesn’t have to be an extraordinary goal, but it has to be something you enjoy or desire.

Above all remember that the internet is just a tool: it can make our lives easier or make us unhappy and unproductive. It all depends on how you use it.