r/nosurf

Recently, I started noticing something strange about myself.

While working, I would constantly switch between tabs on my phone and computer for no real reason. Then I would complain that I had no time, couldn’t focus, or wasn’t working at my full potential.

But over the years, I unknowingly trained my brain to function this way because I kept giving it constant feedback to operate like this.

What surprised me the most was what I realised during meditation.

I noticed that many times, I wasn’t going to my phone because I truly needed something from it. I was going to it to avoid something happening inside me. Stress, discomfort, uncertainty, pressure, boredom. The brain was simply trying to find relief and feel safe.

And whenever I sat down to do meaningful work, a feeling of discomfort would arise. Instead of sitting with it, I would switch tasks, check my phone, open another tab, or distract myself for a moment.

Over time, this repetition conditioned me to believe that I was someone who “couldn’t focus.”

Then I started speaking with like-minded people and professionals, and I realised how common this has become.

The average person checks their phone around 144 times a day, and every interruption forces the brain to refocus again. Over time, the brain adapts to constant multitasking, making deep focus feel uncomfortable and unfamiliar.

Maybe most people today don’t actually have a productivity problem.

Maybe they have an attention regulation problem.

Watch the YouTube video for more information.

I'm at my best away from screens but theres always this nudge to check on the news in fear of something crazy happening given the state of the country (US). A blackout, financial crisis, war, controversy, etc. Not only that, but there's also a fear of missing out on "cultural references" revolving around trending news, such as things that might be deemed as "important to know". A fear of random things like listening to an artist only to find out they've been outed for problematic/criminal stuff, for instance. Or a fear of not being up to date with feminist/equality stuff and accidentally saying something offensive.

Part of me marvels at these "fears" and says WHO CARESSSS, who genuinely gives AF!! whatever you need to know, you'll know. it'll present itself eventually. How can I shut down that pesky, annoying nudge of wanting to be up to date with everything for good, or mostly for good?

Ok hear me out, it's just the most boring sub, you have assholes that make fun of you or a post, people hijack the topic or even just call you a fucking dumbass. Like I made a post about this like petition on X and then people made fun of ME thinking I posted it when i didnt even post it because it was scribbled out and even some asshole commented lol lol and lol like whats so funny? You being a dick to others? I posted complaining about these 'why (insert) sucks and (this guy just pisses me off with these clickbait videos) and then some people then went off topic and were just saying random stuff.

So heres a little advice just dont join, if your just having a shitty day going on there is like pouring gasoline on a burning house with you in it thats all i wanna say. While typing this i just felt depressed, i was fustrated at first but now i just feel like it

I've been on YouTube for years and one thing that's always frustrated me is how much effort it takes to find creators you actually love.

Going by YouTube's New To You section often feels like a slight variation of things I've had already watched, rather than genuinely new discoveries.. The most fulfilling way I have discovered content creators was through community posts on Reddit, which was better than the YouTube algorithm itself.
It feels like platforms are very good at optimizing engagements, but not necessarily at helping people discover creators that align with their specific tastes, interests, or aesthetic preferences.

I am exploring this idea further with an attempt to find out whether there is another better way of discovering new and personalized content creators and hear how other people experience creator discovery online.

Here are some of the things I am curious about:

1. How do you discover creators today?
2. What frustrates you most about current recommendations?
3. What's the best creator you have discovered recently?

Would genuinely love honest thoughts, even if you think this is a non-problem.

Lately I've been on scrolling through reddit everyday for interesting stuff to read and watch and look at. Isn't this just as bad as doomscrolling on tiktok or reels lol. I feel like I learn something at least? Like random historical facts and financial advice but there's also a lot of memes and relationship drama and shitposting about things I dont care about

has this happened to anyone else? Its definitely a case by case thing but you could actually say it was a blessing in disguise. If it wasn't going to survive by not having social media then it probably needed to die.

however ive also found that it makes the act of MAKING new friends a lot harder. Ive been thinking about getting instagram just for social reasons and never going on it other than that but it feels like a slippery slope

initially i used to watch a lot of short form videos just for fun.

memes, edits, random clips nothing serious.

but after some time i started noticing something weird:
i was constantly mentally tired.

at first i ignored it because i thought “everyone scrolls all day, it’s normal.”

later i got into self improvement content.
David Goggins clips, motivational edits, sigma grindset videos, success reels, phonk music with deep quotes etc.

and honestly i convinced myself i was consuming “good content.”

i thought:
“this is motivation.”
“this will help me achieve my goals.”

but months passed
and the mental fatigue never disappeared.

since i’m into books, philosophy, psychology, and human behavior, i started thinking about it more rationally.

then one day i realized:

every reel is not just content.

it’s an emotional transaction.

you give attention + mental energy,
and in return the algorithm sells you an emotion.

humans were never designed to switch emotions this fast.

imagine this:

first reel motivates you to hit the gym

swipe

second reel is a meme and now you’re laughing

swipe

third reel reminds you of your ex

swipe

fourth reel shows a 19 year old making more money than you and now you feel insecure or jealous

all of this happens in under 60 seconds.

4 completely different emotional states.

is that even normal for the brain?
i honestly don’t think so.

for a long time i also fooled myself by saying:
“my feed is educational and motivational.”

but eventually i realized motivation content can become dopamine content too.

a hard phonk song + aggressive quotes + gym edit =
instant dopamine hit.

then your brain starts craving the next hit.
and the next one has to be stronger than the previous one.

that is literally how scrolling addiction works.

and honestly
that is not even the craziest part anymore.

nowadays half the internet does not even feel real.

that CEO you constantly see on your feed?
probably not organic.

there are clipping agencies, PR teams, engagement funnels, repost networks  all designed to flood your feed until a person or ideology feels important.

same with movie edits, political opinions, “alpha male” content, hustle culture etc.

a huge amount of short form content is basically propaganda mixed with entertainment.

not always political propaganda
sometimes it is lifestyle propaganda,
consumer propaganda,
success propaganda,
identity propaganda.

they shape perspectives simply by increasing repetition and emotional intensity.

and once you notice it
you cannot unsee it.

does this mean i completely stopped watching short form content?

yes.

now i can feel myself !! i feel like i am more crreative

more energy

great reflexes

improved sleep cycle

more time to do my work

Hey all. Thanks for stopping by and reading my post, it’s appreciated.

Thought we could do something a little fun. Imagine on the table in front of you right now is a box of cash, and next to it is your phone with whatever social media you fancy using at the time.

The main purpose of this is hopefully we see a lot of low numbers and we realise we’re actually choosing to use SM in some sense probably out of boredom or lack thereof of other options.

This can give us some agency to make change about how much we use, and fill any voids it’s replacing, instead of us feeling like victims to a large machine that is greater than ourselves, taking away agency.

You get to choose one and pick it up and take it, which one are you putting in your hand?

1 million $ or 30min on Social Media?
10k or 30min on SM
1k or 30min on SM
$500 or 30min on SM
$100 or 30min on SM
$50 or 30min on SM
$10 or 30min on SM

How low did you get?

If you got to 10 you’re likely using social media as a tool for boredom when or because other options are not available. Finding more hobbies and interests will simply compete for the phone time.

If you picked the phone over the million, it’s either because you can make more than that in 30min or the phone itself has a higher value, surely 👀

I’m curious where you felt the price point was for you, if you want to go further and explain why that would be great, further still, what you think that figure represents about your social media relationship.

Thanks for taking part.

👻

I’m trying to detox myself from social media because it ruined my self esteem and I can’t stop comparing to others. But at the same time I don’t wanna go cold turkey and delete everything as my friends live far from me and I use social media to talk to them.

I have older relatives who keep on watching fake-as-heck AI videos and in general videos with false information. The stuff they spout is weird as heck.

The "heartwarming stories" about animals are the worst. They either depict the animals as overly anthropomorphic or as incorrect behavior wise. I keep on thinking "That's not how animals work. Dogs don't do that. Birds don't act like that".

People assume it's true because it looks realistic to them.

how do I eliminate short form content? I’ve tried multiple times, and I feel like, not giving in consumes as much energy as much scrolling sucks out of me! Also, I don’t want to leave or deactivate Instagram for how I can connect with people on it. Anyone who has cracked the code please share some advice…

At work, on public transport, in private transport, in bed, at the dinner table, taking a walk.

There's is literally no space safe from screens.

Everywhere I look, there's more and more AI slop. Obviously reels and tiktok are worst hit and luckily became practically unwatchable for me, but even youtube is getting flooded by randos narrating LLM scripts on topics they have no idea about, and reddit is getting more and more bots on it.

Now that's bad in general, but it makes me less and less interested in doomscrolling or browsing in general, so I guess maybe that's a net positive?

What worked for me: (as a big addict for years)

Delete your youtube history and turn it off.
You wont have any recommendations on your home or Short-page. And im amazed how bored i am by my subrscribtion page, which shows only the newest videos. And since it doesnt save any data, everytime you reopen it, it will show those same videos. I even started to unsubscribe people who upload a ton of videos that mostly dont interest me but I see them constantly. Your search results wont be saved. The last video you watched wont be saved. Which is all a pain to use, but thats the point.

On PC, on chrome im also using the extension "UnDistracted", which can instantly block any part of the site.

Im still using it quite abit but slowly realizing how boring it is without the algorithm.

Hi. I'm BMP (27).

When I was a kid, I was pretty active, I loved reading and spent days doing it, I liked playing around, climbing trees and was curious about how the world worked. I grew a little and did well in school, even winning an award for my academic performance once.

We already had a computer in my house, but I only played games like Pinball, Solitaire or messed around creating images on Paint, but then, there was this one summer that my parents gave me more access to the Internet...

Like the curious kiddo I was, I started exploring and soon discovered some pretty cool games, got into new music, learned how to see shows online, and everything was new, exciting and fun. Time passed and I started spending more and more time online and it was fun for a good while, but I soon discovered that the Internet had a negative side as well... I also slowly realized that my academic performance dropped a lot, cause I didn't have the discipline to sit and study with the deep focus I had before.

Even without studying like I should, I finished school and managed to get into college and get a degree in a "respectable" field, but, even then, my habits have remained similar.

Nowadays, I feel like surfing the web feels more tiring than fun, social media is full of ads and brainrot videos, and everything seems to be made either to sell you something or grab your attention so that you spend your whole day scrolling mindlessly.

I had some free time these days and all that I seemed to have enough energy to do was scroll... I know that I have personal and professional projects to work on (plenty even), but the phone/PC just seemed to be pulling me in into some apathetic trance of addiction.

Today I decided I want to quit. I installed LeechBlock NG on my browser (on my phone and my PC), and blocked the sites that I use the most for a big chunk of the day (leaving just a brief period for me to use them every day).

I woke up and just existed... like without my phone... I was so used to being on my phone at every single free moment of my day that the time just seemed to stretch, it was kinda crazy. I called my both my parents today and had a chat with them, watered plants, organized stuff at home, had lunch without simultaneously watching videos (just enjoyed my food - crazy right?). It was calming (and many of you may even think that it was boring), but it felt real.

I felt present at the moment and that felt good.

I want to keep doing it, and this sub seems full of people searching for this same thing: presence (and a community to share it with). So, yeah. I'll do my very best to keep up being present every day from now, and, if you guys want to join me, you can comment what you did on your days as well.

Thanks for reading until now. Peace.

Social media, the behemoth, saint to some, devil to others. If you are under the age of 22 you may not remember life without it at all. Facebook started 24 years ago (yes, I know there were platforms before that. RIP Myspace friends ranking list).

Social media allowed humanity to connect in ways never seen before. Mobile and email required you to have a specific number or address to reach someone. Social media let us each set up our own box in the town square. People used to post pictures of their breakfast, new trainers and blurry photos from their night out. There was no standard of expectation, no unspoken consensus about the 'quality' of posts, it was largely authentic.

Then came the influencer...better production values, researched videos, only the best bits. The highlight reels of each person's existence... And that's when the social pressure started, comparing yourself to others, which in turn led to most people just scrolling rather than posting. Up to 70% of users just scroll without posting now.

That lack of authenticity is now made worse by AI generated content. 71% of images posted to social media are AI generated and over 50% of text falls into the same category. Most social media is not even human highlights anymore, just machine generated entertainment (and I use that word loosely).

There is a nature reserve for human generated content, one that has zero AI and zero bots, essentially a 'walled garden'...Would be interesting to hear what people actually want from social media these days?

Some social media is even worse than others, and some have had a bigger effect on individuals and society as a whole. Which ones have been the ''worst'' when it comes to negative effect on individuals and/or on society as a whole?

Three weeks ago I sat in front of my laptop for 4 minutes trying to write a two-line reply to a colleague.

A message I would have written in 30 seconds a year ago.

I've been using ChatGPT daily for about 14 months. At some point I stopped noticing how much I was delegating. Emails, summaries, decisions, even how to phrase a simple "no" to a meeting invite.

When I couldn't write that email, I started wondering if something had actually changed — not just my habits, but my brain.

Then I found a 2025 MIT Media Lab study where 54 students wore EEG headsets while writing with and without ChatGPT. The group that used AI showed the lowest neural activation in critical thinking areas, lower memory retention, and weaker brain connectivity. The part that stayed with me: even after they stopped using the AI, the effects persisted. The researchers called it "cognitive debt."

That phrase hit differently when I thought about my 4 minutes staring at a blank page.

I'm not quitting AI. But I started tracking my daily usage this week. The number on day one was embarrassing.

Has anyone else had a moment like this? And did tracking actually change anything for you?