r/nosurf May 14 '20

The NoSurf Activity List is now live: awesome ways to spend your time instead of mindless surfing

1.5k Upvotes

The NoSurf Activity List is a comprehensive list of awesome hobbies and activities to explore instead of mindlessly surfing.

It might sound shocking to some of you reading this now, but a lot of newcomers to the community have voiced that they have no idea what they'd do all day if mindlessly surfing the web was no longer an option. This confusion illustrates just how dependent we've grown on the devices around us: we have trouble fathoming what life would be like without them.

Fortunately there's a whole world out there on the other side of our screens. It's a world that won't give you instant short term pleasure. It doesn't appeal to our desire for instant gratification. But what it does offer us is worth so much more. Fulfillment, happiness, and meaning are within our grasps, and a list of inspiring NoSurf activities can serve as a gateway into the world in which they can be found.

This NoSurf Activity list was initially created by combining the contributions of: /anthymnx , /Bdi89 , /iridescentlichen , /hu_lee_oh . Without them this list would not exist, thank you.

Link to list (accessible from the sidebar and in the wiki)

How this list came to be

This list was created after /Bdi89 drew attention to the fact that it would be great to have a centralized resource made up of wholesome, fulfilling activities newcomers and experienced NoSurf veterans alike could be inspired by. Up until this point we've had a really great thread that /anthymx created on how to use your free time linked in the wiki. But it became clear that many more awesome suggestions for NoSurf activities came out of the community since it's creation and that we would benefit from a more in depth resource made up of the best ideas across the subreddit.

I spent a weekend pouring over all of the submissions and sorted through them to pick out the best suggestions. I then invested a day into organizing them into distinct sections that could be explored individually. Lastly I expanded the list by adding in quality suggestions and links to resources that were missing to make the list more comprehensive and actionable. It’s important that newcomers are not just inspired, but actually follow through in adopting better habits and investing their time in fulfilling pursuits.

And thus, the NoSurf Activity List was born. No doubt it's sure to undergo changes and improvements in the coming weeks (some sections could use some additional text), but I believe that as a community we can proud of Version 1 so far. The List is broken down into the following sections:

  • Awesome hobbies

  • Indoor activities

  • Outdoor activities

  • Physical growth

  • Mental growth

  • Self improvement and continued learning

  • Giving back to your community

Naturally not every single activity on this list will appeal to every single person. Instead of expecting this list to be perfectly tailored to each person's interests, I believe it's best to think of it as a source of inspiration, and a symbol of possibility. It's a starting point from which newcomers will be able to embark on their own journeys of exploration, growth, and learn to discover the activities that bring them joy.

A call on the community

If you see a newcomer struggling with how to use their time or wondering what they’d do if they stopped mindlessly browsing the internet, please know that you can positively influence their lives for the better by pointing them towards this resource. If you see someone that seems lost, confused, and unable to make any progress, link them to this list.

It might seem like a small act on your part, but the transformative, and almost magical effect of adopting a hobby cannot be under-emphasized. As a result of your seemingly small act, someone may fall in love with fitness, writing, board games, programming, or reading. So much so that they can no longer fathom the thought of mindlessly surfing anymore, because it means less time in the pursuit of what makes them feel truly alive.

P.S. If you have some ideas you think might be a good fit for the list you can leave a comment in The NoSurf Activity suggestions thread after reading the submission guidelines. The mod team will periodically review the comments in that thread and make changes to the list after taking into account into aspects like originality, quality, broad applicability, etc. of the suggestion. This will ensure that a degree of list quality, consistency, and organization is preserved and that it remains a helpful resource for newcomers and veterans alike.


r/nosurf Aug 19 '21

Digital Minimalism Reading List

1.4k Upvotes

If you have suggestions you'd like to see added, please email me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).

Must Reads

  1. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, Cal Newport, 2019
  2. Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, Jaron Lanier, 2018
  3. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Sherry Turkle, 2017
  4. Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance, Nicholas Kardaras, 2016
  5. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell, 2019
  6. How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, Catherine Price, 2018
  7. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas G. Carr, 2010
  8. Notes on a Nervous Planet, Matt Haig, 2018
  9. Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction, Gary Wilson, 2014
  10. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, Nir Eyal, 2019
  11. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, Adam Alter, 2017
  12. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, Shoshana Zuboff, 2019
  13. The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, 2018
  14. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Cathy O'Neil, 2016
  15. Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, Anna Lembke, 2021
  16. You Should Quit Reddit, Jacob Desforges, 2023

By Subject

Social Media

  1. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing, Chris Bail, 2021
  2. Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms, and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All, Robert Elliott Smith, 2019
  3. Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, Jaron Lanier, 2018
  4. Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection, Jacob Silverman, 2015
  5. The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking, Mark Bauerlein, 2011
  6. The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health--and How We Must Adapt, Sinan Aral, 2020
  7. The Psychology of Social Media, Ciaran McMahon, 2019
  8. Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Paolo Gerbaudo, 2012
  9. You Should Quit Reddit, Jacob Desforges, 2023

Technology and Society

  1. A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, Cal Newport, 2021
  2. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Sherry Turkle, 2017
  3. Attention Factory: The Story of TikTok and China's ByteDance, Matthew Brennan, 2020
  4. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing, Chris Bail, 2021
  5. Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another, Matt Taibbi, 2019
  6. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, Adam Alter, 2017
  7. New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future, James Bridle, 2018
  8. Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms, and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All, Robert Elliott Smith, 2019
  9. Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy, James WIlliams, 2018
  10. Team Human, Douglas Rushkoff, 2019
  11. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, Shoshana Zuboff, 2019
  12. The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking, Mark Bauerlein, 2011
  13. The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains, Robert H. Lustig, 2017
  14. The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health--and How We Must Adapt, Sinan Aral, 2020
  15. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Cathy O'Neil, 2016
  16. The Glass Cage: How Our Computers Are Changing Us, Nicholas Carr, 2015

Children, Parenting, and Families

  1. Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance, Nicholas Kardaras, 2016
  2. It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, danah boyd, 2014
  3. Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age, Yalda T Uhls, 2015
  4. Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives, Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross, 2020
  5. Parenting in a Tech World: A handbook for raising kids in the digital age, Matt McKee and Titania Jordan, 2020
  6. Power Down & Parent Up!: Cyber Bullying, Screen Dependence & Raising Tech-Healthy Children, Holli Kenley, 2017
  7. Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World, Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane, 2020
  8. Screen Time: How Electronic Media-From Baby Videos to Educational Software-Affects Your Young Child, Lisa Guernsey, 2012
  9. Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age, James P. Steyer, 2012
  10. Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine, 2015
  11. Tech Savvy Parenting: Navigating Your Child's Digital Life, Brian Housman, 2014
  12. The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, Howard Gardner and Katie Davis, 2013
  13. The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life, Anya Kamenetz, 2018
  14. The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age, Catherine Steiner-Adair with Teresa H. Barker, 2014
  15. The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, 2018
  16. The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children, James P. Steyer, 2003
  17. The Simple Parenting Guide to Technology: Practical Advice on Smartphones, Gaming and Social Media in Just 40 Pages, Joshua Wayne, 2020
  18. The Tech Diet for your Child & Teen: The 7-Step Plan to Unplug & Reclaim Your Kid's Childhood (And Your Family's Sanity), Brad Marshall, 2019
  19. The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, Andy Crouch, 2017
  20. Why Can't I Have a Cell Phone?: Anderson the Aardvark Gets His First Cell Phone (Teaches Kids Responsibility, Morality, Internet Addiction and Social Media Parental Monitoring), Teddy Behr, 2019
  21. iGen, Jean Twenge, 2017
  22. Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time, Victoria L. Dunckley, 2015

Gaming

  1. Hooked on Games: The Lure and Cost of Video Game and Internet Addiction, Andrew P. Doan and Brooke Strickland, 2012
  2. Internet Addiction: The Ultimate Guide for How to Overcome An Internet Addiction For Life (Gaming Addiction, Video Game, TV, RPG, Role-Playing, Treatment, Computer), Caesar Lincoln, 2014
  3. Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap, Kevin Roberts, 2010

Pornography

  1. Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction, Gary Wilson, 2014
  2. Life After Lust: Stories & Strategies for Sex & Pornography Addiction Recovery, Forest Benedict, 2017
  3. Love You, Hate the Porn: Healing a Relationship Damaged by Virtual Infidelity, Mark Chamberlain and Geoff Steurer, 2011
  4. Porn Addict's Wife: Surviving Betrayal and Taking Back Your Life, Sandy Brown, 2017
  5. Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality, Gail Dines, 2011
  6. The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography, Matt Fradd, 2017
  7. The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography, Wendy Maltz and Larry Maltz, 2009
  8. The Easy Peasy Way to Quit Porn, Hackauthor2, 2020
  9. How to Thrive in the 21st Century - By Avoiding Porn and Other Distractions, Havard Mela, 2020

Classics

  1. Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman, 1985
  2. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932
  3. The Medium is the Massage, Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, 1967
  4. Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Neil Postman, 1992
  5. The Disappearance of Childhood, Neil Postman, 1994

Fiction

  1. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932
  2. The Circle, Dave Eggers, 2015
  3. All Rights Reserved, Gregory Scott Katsoulis, 2017
  4. Access Restricted, Gregory Scott Katsoulis, 2018
  5. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, 2018
  6. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, Hank Green, 2020

Critiques, Counterpoints, and Optimism

  1. It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, danah boyd, 2014
  2. Screen Time: How Electronic Media-From Baby Videos to Educational Software-Affects Your Young Child, Lisa Guernsey, 2012
  3. Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine, 2015

Full List

  1. 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week, Tiffany Shlain, 2019
  2. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, Hank Green, 2020
  3. A Deadly Wandering: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption in the Age of Attention, Matt Richtel, 2014
  4. A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload, Cal Newport, 2021
  5. Access Restricted, Gregory Scott Katsoulis, 2018
  6. All Rights Reserved, Gregory Scott Katsoulis, 2017
  7. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, Sherry Turkle, 2017
  8. Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman, 1985
  9. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, 2018
  10. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear, 2018
  11. Attention Factory: The Story of TikTok and China's ByteDance, Matthew Brennan, 2020
  12. Bored and Brilliant: How Time Spent Doing Nothing Changes Everything, Manoush Zomorodi, 2017
  13. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932
  14. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing, Chris Bail, 2021
  15. Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley, Antonio Garcia Martinez, 2018
  16. Cyber Junkie: Escape the Gaming and Internet Trap, Kevin Roberts, 2010
  17. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, Cal Newport, 2016
  18. Digital Detox: The Ultimate Guide To Beating Technology Addiction, Cultivating Mindfulness, and Enjoying More Creativity, Inspiration, And Balance In Your Life!, Damon Zahariades, 2018
  19. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, Cal Newport, 2019
  20. Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community, and Meaningful Work in the New Economy, Rachel A. Woldoff and Robert C. Litchfield, 2021
  21. Don't Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles, Rana Foroohar, 2019
  22. Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, Anna Lembke, 2021
  23. The Easy Peasy Way to Quit Porn, Hackauthor2, 2020
  24. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Oliver Burkeman, 2021
  25. Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction Is Hijacking Our Kids - and How to Break the Trance, Nicholas Kardaras, 2016
  26. Hate Inc.: Why Today’s Media Makes Us Despise One Another, Matt Taibbi, 2019
  27. Hooked on Games: The Lure and Cost of Video Game and Internet Addiction, Andrew P. Doan and Brooke Strickland, 2012
  28. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal, 2014
  29. How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life, Catherine Price, 2018
  30. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy, Jenny Odell, 2019
  31. How to Live With the Internet and Not Let It Run Your Life, Gabrielle Alexa Noel, 2021
  32. How to Thrive in the 21st Century - By Avoiding Porn and Other Distractions, Havard Mela, 2020
  33. Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction, Chris Bailey, 2018
  34. iGen, Jean Twenge, 2017
  35. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, Gabor Maté, 2010
  36. In the Shadows of the Net: Breaking Free of Compulsive Online Sexual Behavior, Patrick J Carnes and David L. Delmonico and Elizabeth Griffin, 2007
  37. Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, Nir Eyal, 2019
  38. Internet Addiction: The Ultimate Guide for How to Overcome An Internet Addiction For Life (Gaming Addiction, Video Game, TV, RPG, Role-Playing, Treatment, Computer), Caesar Lincoln, 2014
  39. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, Adam Alter, 2017
  40. It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens, danah boyd, 2014
  41. Life After Lust: Stories & Strategies for Sex & Pornography Addiction Recovery, Forest Benedict, 2017
  42. Love You, Hate the Porn: Healing a Relationship Damaged by Virtual Infidelity, Mark Chamberlain and Geoff Steurer, 2011
  43. Media Moms & Digital Dads: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting in the Digital Age, Yalda T Uhls, 2015
  44. New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future, James Bridle, 2018
  45. Notes on a Nervous Planet, Matt Haig, 2018
  46. Offline: Free Your Mind from Smartphone and Social Media Stress, Imran Rashid and Soren Kenner, 2018
  47. Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives, Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross, 2020
  48. Parenting in a Tech World: A handbook for raising kids in the digital age, Matt McKee and Titania Jordan, 2020
  49. Porn Addict's Wife: Surviving Betrayal and Taking Back Your Life, Sandy Brown, 2017
  50. Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality, Gail Dines, 2011
  51. Power Down & Parent Up!: Cyber Bullying, Screen Dependence & Raising Tech-Healthy Children, Holli Kenley, 2017
  52. Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms, and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All, Robert Elliott Smith, 2019
  53. Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology, Diana Graber, 2019
  54. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, Sherry Turkle, 2015
  55. Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time, Victoria L. Dunckley, 2015
  56. Screen Kids: 5 Relational Skills Every Child Needs in a Tech-Driven World, Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane, 2020
  57. Screen Schooled: Two Veteran Teachers Expose How Technology Overuse Is Making Our Kids Dumber, Joe Clement and Matt Miles, 2017
  58. Screen Time: How Electronic Media-From Baby Videos to Educational Software-Affects Your Young Child, Lisa Guernsey, 2012
  59. Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy, James WIlliams, 2018
  60. Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention, Johann Hari, 2022
  61. Talking Back to Facebook: The Common Sense Guide to Raising Kids in the Digital Age, James P. Steyer, 2012
  62. Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, Lisa Guernsey and Michael H. Levine, 2015
  63. Team Human, Douglas Rushkoff, 2019
  64. Tech Savvy Parenting: Navigating Your Child's Digital Life, Brian Housman, 2014
  65. Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology, Neil Postman, 1992
  66. Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, Jaron Lanier, 2018
  67. Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection, Jacob Silverman, 2015
  68. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, Shoshana Zuboff, 2019
  69. The App Generation: How Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, Howard Gardner and Katie Davis, 2013
  70. The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life, Anya Kamenetz, 2018
  71. The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age, Catherine Steiner-Adair with Teresa H. Barker, 2014
  72. The Circle, Dave Eggers, 2015
  73. The Coddling of the American Mind, Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff, 2018
  74. The Digital Divide: Arguments for and Against Facebook, Google, Texting, and the Age of Social Networking, Mark Bauerlein, 2011
  75. The Disappearance of Childhood, Neil Postman, 1994
  76. The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don't Trust Anyone Under 30), Mark Bauerlein, 2008
  77. The Glass Cage: How Our Computers Are Changing Us, Nicholas Carr, 2015
  78. The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains, Robert H. Lustig, 2017
  79. The Hype Machine: How Social Media Disrupts Our Elections, Our Economy, and Our Health--and How We Must Adapt, Sinan Aral, 2020
  80. The Joy of Missing Out: Finding Balance In A Wired World, Christina Crook, 2014
  81. The Medium is the Massage, Marshall McLuhan and Quentin Fiore, 1967
  82. The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect on Our Children, James P. Steyer, 2003
  83. The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography, Matt Fradd, 2017
  84. The Porn Trap: The Essential Guide to Overcoming Problems Caused by Pornography, Wendy Maltz and Larry Maltz, 2009
  85. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg, 2014
  86. The Psychology of Social Media, Ciaran McMahon, 2019
  87. The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, Nicholas G. Carr, 2010
  88. The Simple Parenting Guide to Technology: Practical Advice on Smartphones, Gaming and Social Media in Just 40 Pages, Joshua Wayne, 2020
  89. The Tech Diet for your Child & Teen: The 7-Step Plan to Unplug & Reclaim Your Kid's Childhood (And Your Family's Sanity), Brad Marshall, 2019
  90. The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place, Andy Crouch, 2017
  91. The Trap: Sex, Social Media, and Surveillance Capitalism, Jewels Jade, 2021
  92. Trapped In The Web: How I Liberated Myself From Internet Addiction, And How You Can Too, A. N. Turner and Ben Beard and Kris Kozak, 2018
  93. Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, Jia Tolentino, 2019
  94. Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator, Ryan Holiday, 2013
  95. Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism, Paolo Gerbaudo, 2012
  96. Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations, Nicholas Carr, 2016
  97. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Cathy O'Neil, 2016
  98. Who Owns the Future?, Jaron Lanier, 2013
  99. Why Can't I Have a Cell Phone?: Anderson the Aardvark Gets His First Cell Phone (Teaches Kids Responsibility, Morality, Internet Addiction and Social Media Parental Monitoring), Teddy Behr, 2019
  100. You Should Quit Reddit, Jacob Desforges, 2023
  101. Your Brain on Porn: Internet Pornography and the Emerging Science of Addiction, Gary Wilson, 2014

Big thanks to all the contributors: Natalie Sharpe, David Marshall, Rick Dempsey, RonnieVae, Westofer Raymond, Sarah Devan, Zak Zelkova.


r/nosurf 6h ago

Reddit is so darn negative.

51 Upvotes

This is something I've began to notice on this platform is you can't be positive at all on this platform I know that reddit is pretty much full of either losers or weirdos but dam I can't say anything positive without it getting down voted like my bad I'm sorry your life fucking sucks and you have to bring everyone down with you I don't understand how reddit can ban people for having bad opinions in some communitys but all these mf losers who just down voted to down voted because they can't make any valid points because they have no life experience outside their house seriously a problem.

And I don't care who tries to attack me with rude comments or down voted it only proves my point that this app can and will never be a positive platform.


r/nosurf 5h ago

Commenting makes it all worse

11 Upvotes

The one thing that has helped me curb Facebook and X is stopping commenting. If I find myself making a comment on a post, I try to ask myself if I really need to be the person to offer this Pearl of wisdom. And then I just erase it.

When you don’t comment, you don’t get anywhere near as many notifications. Same goes with thumbs upping.

After a while the app gets less interesting because none of it revolves around how “interesting brilliant or kind” you are.

This post goes against all of that, of course, but if you haven’t tried withholding likes and comments, give it a go for a few days. The sheen really rubs off.


r/nosurf 7h ago

Free Course: Master Productivity & Stay Consistently Motivated with Maria Wendt

15 Upvotes

I recently came across something that I think could really benefit anyone struggling with consistency, especially when it comes to studying. Like many, I tend to go through bursts of productivity followed by slumps, and I was searching for a course or guideline to help me stay more consistent. After asking around, I found this fantastic free course called "Maria Wendt - How To Get Shit Done & Stay Consistently Motivated" (you can check it out here: https://go.thecoursebunny.com/WLb_2iCkm

I've been watching a few of the modules throughout the week, and I’ve already noticed a significant improvement in my consistency. The course breaks down practical strategies in a way that's easy to follow and genuinely motivating. It's not just about pushing yourself harder—it’s about creating habits that make consistent productivity feel effortless.

Hope this helps surf everyone into productivity like it helped me.


r/nosurf 51m ago

I stopped Instagram

Upvotes

I stopped Instagram

Hello! I’m new in this canal but I just wanted to share my experience.

I felt really down lately and feeling ugly and miserable all the time,i realized I spent like a 2/3 hours a day on Instagram scrolling reels and comparing myself to people I don’t even know ect ect,i realized Instagram became one of the biggest reason I felt this way all the time.

But a few weeks ago I decided to stop socials media,i knew it would be so complicated for me because it was part of my habits so I started by following accounts who encourages you to get off Instagram (like @ get_off_dopamine) and each time this account popped in my feed I just left Instagram ,and day after day my time using instagram went from 2/3h a day to 15 minutes Now I just answer a few text and leave immediately the app,i sometimes want to go back on it because it feels like an addiction so I replace this app with a scrabble game,like whenever i feel like going on instagram i play scrabble ahaha (I don’t know if I’m clear)

Now I have deactivated my instagram account and I feel so much better like instagram felt like the reality like MY reality,and I realized it was really fake and so different from the real world… So that’s it I just wanted to share this with you because thanks to that I feel so much better now and maybe my experience could help others ;) (sorry for English,that is not my first language)


r/nosurf 6h ago

Imagine Glued To Your Phone From Birth To Death

7 Upvotes

Life is meaningless. No one talk to each other anymore since we all see each other stories and know what's going on around the world. Talking to strangers is weird now. Easier to control people that way, it's a perfect mind control machine for the masses. We're basically slaves


r/nosurf 8h ago

Why do many Redditors hate facts? Even if they are simple?

9 Upvotes

True, many truths hurt, but even the simple true no-shit-sherlock facts get downvoted.

I was on a subreddit one time about a homicide case, and there is one person who blamed a specific community for all the murders, so I corrected him by saying that homicides and abuse happens everywhere, and then I got downvoted and even insulted.

One time I was discussing about violence to girls and women, forced marriages and child abuse and all the comments said something along the lines of blaming every Middle Eastern person for it. But I challenged him after he generalised by talking about how forced child marriage, exploitation of girls can happen anywhere, including some western countries like US, Russia, Bulgaria (and I gave them the sources) and I was downvoted and insulted for saying something that is true (Again, I am 90% certain I got sources from legit sites). I also said a true fact that femicides in rural Americas (particularly Latin America) are much higher than Gulf Middle Eastern countries and that commentator told me to stfu. What. Furthermore, they were asking me if I know what evidence means, sorry, are my evidence not "evidence"? What is your definition? Generalising non-white, non-american societies to make the country look better than others? Oh, and I also mentioned a few white western victims of abuse like exploitation (e.g Piper Rockelle, Wren Eleanor, Brooke Shields, etc) or forced/child marriages and the comments ignored what I said and continued to throwna war at me.

And many months ago, I was in a war with a commentator saying how I am a retard or an Islamic extremist for not liking alcohol, but I told them about the genuine harm of alcohol and health issues, as well as the severe consequences (we all seen hundreds of abusive dicks being recorded who act like douchbags after being drunk) and I still got downvoted. Then the commentator changed the subject for no fucking reason and said that how all wars are due to religion, so I asked them what caused the North Korea war, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Syrian Civil War, WW1 and WW2, Iraq and US wars, etc and I got downvoted and again, verbally abused.

You can judge me if you want if I am being too biased here, but I feel like it seems that any fact you say here, whether its life-harsh or simple, you will get put down.

Pretty hypocritical, because I see a consensus on Reddit complaining about how much of a bad hivemind this place is and full of unethical takes in which no one in real life would believe, yet they attack others for saying something true.

I don't see this sensitivity on YouTube, not even TikTok (by the looks of it) and not even Quora! Twitter could be one, but idk bout that cuz I never used it and never will.


r/nosurf 11h ago

Phones are not bad. it's social media.

15 Upvotes

seriously, these things are awesome, but they are so boring without that online crap.


r/nosurf 20h ago

‘TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens, lawsuit documents allege’

52 Upvotes

Npr posted this on the 11th I would have included link in the post but not sure if that was allowed.

‘Another internal document found that the company was aware its many features designed to keep young people on the app led to a constant and irresistible urge to keep opening the app.

TikTok’s own research states that “compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conversational depth, empathy, and increased anxiety,” according to the suit.

In addition, the documents show that TikTok was aware that “compulsive usage also interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/school responsibilities, and connecting with loved ones.”

They also said that it takes 35 minutes to get addicted to the app. It’s really not good for children and teens.

As an adult i honestly feel much slower mentally from using it. But how can we reverse the negative mental health effects?


r/nosurf 11m ago

What’s an app that blocks TikTok and instagram on you phone for a certain amount of time?

Upvotes

I don’t want to delete TikTok cause I have a few viral videos on there and drafts I want to keep, I just wanna take a break. Is there an app that blocks both TikTok and Instagram for a while?


r/nosurf 12h ago

Does internet communication make people sound more combative than they normally are?

9 Upvotes

I cannot help but think that my comments here on Reddit and also on Instagram always comes across as combative to people and I never mean it in such a way.

Ideally I would like to write the way I speak but doing so would make my posts too verbose and wordy.

At any rate, people can sometimes be alarmed at my comments and I don't know if this is because, overall, people who communicate on the internet are more sensitive, or because the medium of computer communication in and of itself dilutes the nature of dialogue into making comments sound more combative than they actually are.

Where does all this anger come from? Everybody is so stiff and serious here. Militant soldiers to their opinions that it's difficult to speak to them in a pleasant and delightful way, such as one would do at a bar or lounge.


r/nosurf 23h ago

Racism has been made a norm in forums.

44 Upvotes

I don't know if this was a thing already, but social media comment sections have been the party clubs for racist people.


r/nosurf 8h ago

I’m progressing toward my goal

2 Upvotes

It’s been weeks now since I tried to reduce my screentime. Last week I had a total of less than 4 hours for the whole week on my phone, and 80 of those minutes where because I use my phone as a mic on my computer. And no social media on my phone, it was only for necessities and calling my parents.

I’m still struggling on my computer. I finally started to understand well that if I go on social media in the morning, no work will be done during the day. But I’m still on average 9 hours a day on my computer, and last week 18 hours were on youtube, and 17 hours on Discord. Less than 9 hours for the whole week were used to work on my projects.

To be fair, I’m working way better rn. I started reading again (I almost finished The Shallows ☺️), I’m working on offline projects… but my computer screen time is way too high, especially if it’s to be on social media and entertainment.

I get migraines easily so being all this time on my computer isn’t healthy at all, it’s basically destroying my life. Even if I was 18 hours on youtube, "only" a few hours were on short form content, I watched way more longer videos so I’m taking the win

Not being on social media like Instagram made me stopped comparing myself to others so now I’m feeling way better, I’m improving my life and that’s a great thing.

I’ll continue to try, that’s 100% worth it, that’s hard as fuck since I grew up with the internet, but knowing why you do that helps build discipline and motivation, and I can’t do anything else than try until I succeed. It’s been months now I’m trying to do that, but being here helps me a lot, because I know I’m not alone with this :)


r/nosurf 4h ago

I have a serious issue with YouTube and it has almost ruined my life. Please help.

1 Upvotes

This is my first post on this subreddit, and it is out of pure frustration. I don't know what to do about it. I am severely addicted to Youtube and YouTube Music (Not the music part, but the podcasts). The problem is so bad that if I start watching videos on YouTube, my mind goes numb and I am not able to take further decisions.

One part of my mind is screaming at me to close the video and get back to studying, while the other feels like its dead. I can feel both my minds struggling and this feeling makes me feel so helpless.

I have installed blockers on my Phone and Laptop. Through various weird hacks and configurations, I have made the blockers in my laptop practically unbreakable until the timer runs out or I reinstall windows. This process took me months to refine, otherwise I would figure out some way to open the lock and mindlessly play games and watch YouTube for hours or days.

But my phone is another thing. I have blocked safe mode in my phone through parental lock, and installed blockers that cannot be unlocked unless I go and unlock it from someone else's phone and that's where my problem lies. It's too easy for me to unlock the blockers on my phone. I cannot replace my smartphone with a dumbphone, because I use it for communicating with my sister who lives in another country and the only medium of communication is through WhatsApp. I tried using Andoff but it's too restrictive. I cannot setup my payment methods on Andoff and some other apps that I have to use on my phone. I deleted all my social media apps like instagram and snapchat and realised that they were never the problem. It was my inability to detach myself from the content that's playing on the screen. I don't watch shorts, I watch mostly long videos or podcasts, but they too overtake my life. I always have some podcast playing on YouTube Music and hours go by without me noticing. After 2-3 hours of listening to random podcasts, I realize that I have wasted my day, have not achieved anything that I planned to do for the day. I install the blockers for a few days, but on 3rd or 4th day, I uninstall them again to jump into YouTube to nuke my brain with pointless podcasts that will have no effect on my life in the long term.

This is a long post but my desperate cry for help. I have tears in my eyes right now. I don't know what to do, where to go. Please help me.


r/nosurf 16h ago

One upside about smartphones for daydreamers.

3 Upvotes

Even as I kid I'd often find myself daydreaming and because of that it led me on the path of writing, creating, world-building.

In the past, sitting and staring off into the distance was seen as a weird and a sign of being crazy, even if the person was daydreaming.

But nowadays one can just hold a smartphone in their hands and stare at it while listening to music and get lost in thought without anyone batting an eye.

I've found myself doing that quite often lately, keeping a notepad handy if any ideas hit me. People probably assume I'm just scrolling through reels.

I don't believe that getting lost in thought is bad thing nor is having an active imagination bad. Imagination should be encouraged, but brainrot kills that, stifles it.


r/nosurf 23h ago

Finally taking my life back

13 Upvotes

Im a video game addict,

It's true. I finnally am admitting it. I have wasted so many hours on them, but now I'm finnally putting the games and shorts/reels down for good. Testing a few apps out this week to see what I like.

Wish me luck!


r/nosurf 10h ago

Accountability group for the forfeit app

1 Upvotes

I am creating accountability group to help each of us to stay off bad internet and implement healthy usage habits.

The forfeit app looks like a good tool for this, but it still lacks social layer. In the app you accept forfeit like "no news sites or no tiktok for more than 5 minute per day" and if you fail, you have to pay.

If you would like to be a part of this accountability group please send me in private:

  1. your forfeit name

  2. your whatsapp number.

Let all of us be free from destructive online habits!


r/nosurf 1d ago

Friends refusing to change from Snapchat to WhatsApp or any other messaging app.

15 Upvotes

I’m trying to quit Snapchat because its Discover and Spotlight pages have ruined my productivity, causing me to scroll for hours and affecting my mental health. I’ve neglected hobbies and spent less time with family because of it. Additionally, Snapchat drains my battery significantly, which has led to issues when I needed to make urgent calls. I’ve asked my friends to switch to WhatsApp for messaging, but they refuse due to Snapchat’s streaks and other features. How can I overcome this situation?


r/nosurf 19h ago

Boredom and overstimulation

5 Upvotes

I'm so bored. I am at the park now about to go for a walk then go back home. I had plans to relax all day at home but couldn't sit with my thoughts. I needed to relax my back because it has been bothering me.

Anyway, I feel like I need constant stimulation all the time. How do I get rid of this urge? I notice I tend to multitask a lot. Watching tv while on my laptop or playing on my laptop while eating, playing on my phone while driving (usually it's messing with Spotify or something else )


r/nosurf 22h ago

Taking it a step further: TV shows and streaming

7 Upvotes

I often say that I do actually miss cable television in releasing shows one episode a week. I loved the sense of community it created, how I could talk to people about what we thought would happen next.

Now, we all watch the whole season in one night and talk about the whole thing. Binging TV shows on streaming services is so similar to mindlessly scrolling online. One time I watched several seasons of The Nanny in one week. When I was scrolling through cable with my mom, an episode from the second season was on and we put it on. I realized I did not recall the episode at all even though I had watched it a week ago.

Though I cannot control what others so, I am actively trying to pace myself in watching 1-2 episodes of a show a week. It keeps me invested in the same world for longer and frees up so much of my time to be productive.


r/nosurf 14h ago

Starting

1 Upvotes

I think I know why I’m so depressed and I’m doing everything to stop. I’m just scared that I’m riding on beginners high but I am determined to stop doom scrolling. I started today by deleting problem apps (twitter,YouTube) already deleted tiktok but yeah any advice to stick to my plan would really help. I just joined this sub (don’t worry I plan to reduce my Reddit time too) and I would like some advice. My screen time is 16 hrs btw(yeah,I know)


r/nosurf 1d ago

The internet really has ruined familiar places.

62 Upvotes

When I was a kid, it was much easier to just...approach people. See someone sitting in the mall that looks familiar? Go up to them and start chatting, easy.

Today, that is easier said than done. People are plugged in constantly, and really are like "zombies" who mindlessly scroll through their feeds, as it FEEDS them useless garbage.

This is what I mean by "familiar places." Places that you could meet people without a barrier that's already been established before you even look in their direction. Not to say that these places don't exist at all, but they truly are few and far between.

I only see this "ending" with society. We have opened up Pandora's Box, and I feel as though it's gone so far away from baseline at this point that the former I brought up really will have to take place in order to end this vicious cycle.


r/nosurf 21h ago

Keeping at it through winter

3 Upvotes

In my area of Canada fall has hit.. its cold and wet.. the days are getting very short and soon it will be winter which means a lot more indoor time cabin fever and overall boredom.

for others in this situation, What sorts of things keep you busy and away from your phone/ computer


r/nosurf 15h ago

How do you feel about the sub r/phonesarebad?

1 Upvotes

r/nosurf 1d ago

what to do when I am tired?

11 Upvotes

After work I am tired. I can't do anything. Because of it I scroll internet. What should I do? And what are some good low level dopamine activities?


r/nosurf 1d ago

Digital addiction, despair, hope and recovery

7 Upvotes

I've just released this album called Pixel Eyes. Ten new songs, 5 about digital addiction and despair, and 5 about hope and recovery.

I'd love it if you would give it a listen x

https://youtu.be/bunzf8tnUWM?si=LAV9kZMACSizCiNJ