I don't, really, but I do kind of know how you feel. If the Internet goes out, I feel really lost and disconnected (heh) from the rest of... well, everything, even though most of my time is spent on IRC and IM programs. I tend to feel weird, even guilty, if I'm not signed into them.

But yeah, you can't just "quit" cold-turkey. Try to limit your time to say... 4 hours a day to start. If you say "large chunk of waking hours" and you also have school, I'm just going to assume you're online for 8 hours minimum (this was very common for me during school as well, usually it was more depending on class schedule). Cut your use in half, but take it in chunks if you need to when you start. Maybe spend an hour online, then unplug your router and watch anime offline, or play a video game offline.

I really don't have much advice except to try it in baby steps, and maybe shutting your Internet/computer off when you're not online, if you feel that would help.

I wish I did. I have the same problem.
My internet actually went down for six hours just the other day (the ISP is having problems). I paced around the room and reset the router multiple times. Then I just lay in bed and tried to sleep because I didn't know what else to do.
I have been trying to read books lately, but it's almost as if I have internet induced ADD. I'm meant to be studying for a thermodynamics exam this week, but I have done nothing so far except waste time on the internet and sleep.

>>22001
Go wander around your neighborhood or in your city. Go eat outside somewhere. Go walk in a park or forest. Wandering around might help....

The internet has become a problem over the past couple of years because of the constant distraction and change it provides; nothing else in life is quite like that.

Back in the day, people thought that the internet would be used to further the psychological advancement of humanity, but in reality it has just provided a lot of junk entertainment and information. Not that you can't find anything good on the internet, it is just that there are so many more things online that are not good for you.

In the 90s and early 2000s, the internet basically promoted diversity, but now the internet has been used to either create, influence or enforce social and cultural norms. Those that deviate significantly are usually forced onto niche sites such as this one or give up altogether.

My advice would be to get out of the house more often. Like >>22008 said, wandering is usually good for you unless you live in a dangerous area.

Tapering off sounds like a great idea.

Also, you said that you want to have more productive hobbies. Like... what? Find a hobby that you can use to distract yourself when you're disconnected. Even reading books or watching anime is good enough for now.

I have no idea how I should get over this addiction but I'll probably end up snapping or killing myself soon if I don't find way fast.

Probably the way to conquer addiction to computers is not to find a more powerful source of entertainment but to return to a state where you expect less stimulation. I thought that the way out of addiction would be to try and find a form of entertainment which can rival what going on the computer gives me.

But that was before I realised that maybe dopamine acts like a drug similar to caffiene or whatnot. If you’re addicted to coffee the solution isn’t to get addicted to even stronger forms of caffiene, it is to undergo the painful process of weaning yourself off that addiction and getting used to life without it.

Perhaps getting over it is not just a matter of behavioural modification: there is literally a chemical deficiency to dopamine in my brain. Maybe thats just an excuse for not trying harder. But its an interesting take on it.

>>22009
I agree. The vast majority of the internet is just used for cheap trashy entertainment which is endlessly recycled.

>>22011
Anything, really. Anything thats not destructive. Going on bike rides could improve your health and stamina. Learning a new language improves your knowledge. Learning an insturment improves your skill in that instrument, etc. Spending all my recreational time internet doesn't really do much to benefit me.

Why do you feel that it is so diffucult to drop internet? Is there anything in particular that keeps you tied to it, some actual reason for you to feel bad not able to be online?
Personally I used to feel like that back then when my presence on the web has its meaning, when I was managing a couple of anime-related clubs on a social network, being mostly the sole contributor there, so that offline time was harmful for those societies I felt being in charge of. Now I mostly ceased doing that and barely anyone will miss me should I go offline, so I don't care.

>>22068
I'm not even sure why I find it so hard to stop using the internet so much. Whats the reason that everyone else who wants to stop using it have trouble?

>>22081

Force of habit.

>>22081
It's the only place where I can get my social fix without major inconveniences and I depend on it for most of my activities, so it feels really inefficient to do stuff offline.

>>22007
I've been feeling like I can't concentrate on anything, including books and such which I used to really like, for more than a few minutes. It really does feel like internet ADD.
Even watching anime and films has become hard for me to do. Usually I just start an episode, watch it for 5 minutes, and if it hasn't completely captivated me by then, I close it and go do something else. It's really bothersome.

While I'm officially not a NEET, I spend at least 10 to 12 hours a day on the internet. I really don't know what to do without it anymore.

What's wrong with having an "internet addiction?" The Internet is a very wonderful place. It's almost like a subreality of sorts. On the Internet, all that matters is your mind, and I think that's a very great thing. It doesn't matter how old you are, how you look, what skin color you are, if you're handicapped... all that matters is that you have a fairly strong grasp of language and either the urge to produce or the urge to consume, preferably both in combination.

This thread makes me feel really uncomfortable. I've spent almost every single day of the past year or so online. From when I get up to when I fall asleep. I'll take little breaks to play video games or shower or make food, but mostly it's the internet. It's not uncommon for me to blow 12 - 17 hours going through the same cycle of sites.

If 8 hours is too much, then holy shit...

I think it's the "instant release" that so many imageboards provide. If they were like regular forums, it'd be fine (and I might be a bit insane for F5'ing them all day). But the faster ones are more like chat-rooms. The slower ones are nicer, because I don't feel as much of a need to go to them. I can wait for the threads to build up, and then have a nice discussion. Whereas in the faster communities, I have to move quickly to "save" the threads I want to keep alive.

Reading through this makes me heavily reconsider my life.