r/nosurf

So basically I thought deleting Instagram will improve my mental health as I used to see stories of my friends and people living lavish life .

Influencers buying their 3rd car , people winning competitions , people having beutiful gf/wife .

I deleted insta and thought maybe I will just use reddit .

I now think reddit is more depressing than insta , cause insta was atleast showing me fake life but atleast I was happy .

Now , everytime I open reddit I see people graduated in 2020 and still unemployed and asking for referral , while some dudes are asking me to roast their resume , while someone is saying how their parents caught them while mastubaxing/gooning , while someone is proposing and getting rejected .

Im 18, and i hear all these stories from people who lived in the 80s,90s,2000s, basically any decade before smartphones and massive internet affection. And they were much more social. I consider myself pretty extroverted and right now its summer but im mostly at home by myself, because no one wants to hang out all day and chill.

We gather a bit for a couple of hours and go home and thats it and it feels pretty bad like i will regret this but its not really my fault. I know all decades have their problems but honestly id take those rather than this shit. I basically quit almost all social media, only use reddit and youtube occasionally, but its lonely. I got hobbies but its not the same. The vibe isnt here.

So if anyone has any suggestions it would be helpful.

Does anyone else feel like the internet is really negative these days? For example, yesterday I opened Facebook just to look something up and like six negative news stories popped up in five minutes. I felt awful and decided to uninstall it. I've actually been blocking my phone usage and I feel better. Sometimes I feel like quitting social media forever or even selling my phone.

I have only been active on Reddit for a short amount of time. I had a few posts and comments and always try to be kind and compassionate. I am just sharing what has worked for me in life, school, work. I don’t offend anyone. I upvote. Yet, almost always, without fail, there are haters, with mean comments, insults, profanity. Downvoting simple comments as “Thank you for your feedback, that’s very useful”. Seriously?!?! They force me to delete my comments and leave subreddits. They immediately get upvoted! And they are there-under every comment and post, relentlessly bullying, no matter what you say.

Is this normal for Reddit? Does it happen to everyone? Are there safer, normal corners here, where you won’t get attacked and insulted? Are these people bullies in real life too or they are just braver hiding behind the keyboard?

I have never experienced anything that toxic in real life.

People are way more snarky. It’s nearly impossible to make good friends online anymore when it used to be really easy a decade ago. There’s tons of bots and third worlders who monetize slop.
The internet used to have more smart nerdy creative fun personable types, now it’s normie types or totally mentally ill people (the types that aren’t fun. I have my own issues but the mentally ill types I am talking about are the ones who will lash out about literally anything).
The internet is so bad that I have slowly been trying to reintegrate into society. It’s been extremely difficult but I am becoming aware of my internet addiction and how it’s not contributing anything at all to my life at this point and how I need to move on from the daily internet all day habit.
I have been on reddit since the late 2000s and was early to just about every platform you can imagine. The vibes are all totally gone now.
I have been terminally online for my entire life and it’s gotten so bad I feel like touching grass and joining society again is the only thing left to do.

I've had this one for 11 years. For what? Why am I invested in this account? I am just arguing with a bunch of bots and AI. I've probably contributed a few good things to help people but is it worth the amount of time I spend on this? No.

Join me folks!

This is what I want ideally:

• read the news from my preferred sources all in one place
• no algorithms thinking they know what I want, no trending topics, nothing trying to keep me hooked or glued to my screen
• simple chronological feed, newest to oldest
• no ads, if possible
• and ideally free 😂

Any suggestions?

sorry if this is the wrong place but I’m currently going to bed at like 5 am, just because I can’t get off technology, how should I get off of it at night?

I used to be an avid +2h daily Instagram consumer. It coincided with how I was studying an art degree at the same time, and It kinda didnt feel that bad since I used it on a Pinterest/art inspiration kind of way. That of course didnt last long, since even for artists, when IG started its reels war with TT, the platform just sucked bad and I completely left it. Not that interesting to receive dosages of unfiltered random videos.

Maybe sometimes I could end watching some DMs to later be caught by the stories doomscrolling (content that atleast was "curated" by friends)

That made me spend maybe 10-15 mins sometimes, at max (my average daily use was under 2min since the heavy algorithm era)

But now, to my surprise, I see that Instagram even pushes ads after the very first reel you consume. And is crazy how that helps at just making me insta close the hell out of that burning dumpster.

If any of you still rely to IG, I would recommend to atleast switch to reddit instead. Here theres some component of actual interaction. By the time someone discovers how to make us eat a bunch of video ads in between coments, well be F* Up. Maybe that would make me quit reddit too.

(English isn’t my first language sorry)

You can’t believe how much not being on Reddit has improved my life. I spent about a year and a half on this website and thought most of my experiences on this website were pretty fun and positive, with some mean/negative experience thrown in. I’ve come to regret almost all of my experiences, including the “positive” ones because I’ve realized that I could’ve spent that time experiencing real life instead of winning stupid internet debates and earning nonsense internet points.

Also, there’s no ignoring the paranoid and angry culture that pervades this site. Even if you try to stick to the better corners of this site, you still run into it. You can’t have an honest discussion about modern life or politics without people saying the world is literally ending. I didn’t think I had absorbed any of this ridiculous negativity but realized I had as I became less pessimistic after leaving this site. I’m less socially anxious and worried people will judge me now that I’m not on a site where socially anxious people are always judging other people.

Leave Reddit today

(Ps delete everything first :)

Been reducing my screen time in the mornings and evenings, but finding it difficult as I've not got much to enjoy to replace it with.

I used to be quite passionate about things – learned two languages, read a lot, lifted weights and ran, sewed clothing. Now I can't seem to get back into anything. The best I've managed with reading is reading an article or two a day because I can't focus much on reading and can't seem to enjoy any books. There are things I do regularly, like journalling, climbing, yoga guitar/singing and cooking, but they just seem like chores and it uses up a lot of my willpower to do them.

I now spend most of my free time going on walks, with or without music. Which is ok, I guess. But I can't go for walks during the day time when I have a work from home job with little work to do. It feels awful to have so much free time but not enjoy any of it.

What did you do to get out of this slump? Note: I'm not depressed at the moment (have bipolar disorder but even when I'm not in a mood episode I can't seem to get into anything). Mood generally OK but feel bored and frustrated that I don't have any passion for any hobbies.

Just posting this here as therapy for me. I am a 28yo male, who basically spent most of his youth attached to some form of content. I always was a shy guy, and high school just made it worse, for some reason. Luckily, the first 12 years of my life were amazing, and the only content that was present at that time were some video games or an occasional movie, always shared with friends and family. Then smartphones and social media appeared right at the time I was more vulnerable. I became an insecure teenager, that tried to avoid social situations as much as possible, and the internet offered a way to feel some kind of connection without the risk of being judged.

Why go out and socialize if you could just be anonymously on Twitter and forums? Why making the effort to talk to a girl you like if you have every girl you can possibly imagine posting hot content on Instagram and TikTok (and if you want something more explicit, you have access to endless amounts of porn)? Why try to learn something new when you can watch people doing it way better than you would ever do on Youtube?

Without even noticing, I was avoiding real life more and more, and a point came when I was just living other peoples life through the internet, but mine was empty. I wasn't able to concentrate on anything anymore, couldn't even get my degree because I couldn't focus for 5 minutes straight without needing some stimulation. I got to an average screen time of 8-12 hours on my phone, including Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, Porn and soft porn (social media girls leaks). I even became addicted to movies and TV shows, watching one every day at some point. I got used to having a YouTube video or a podcast in the background for everything, including every time I was in the bathroom (showering, brushing my teeth, etc), doing my bed or cooking. To me, this became normal.

In 2026, after years of feeling incredibly bad (low energy, exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, depression), something finally clicked and I realize that everything that I described was not normal, and maybe it was the thing preventing me from progressing. So I started a process to eliminate all of it.

So far, I have successfully and definitely deleted every social media platform (I just install instagram when I want to post something myself, but don't consume any content from there). Every kind of porn is also almost eliminated from my life (I still struggle with some soft things sometimes, but it is progressing slowly). I only watch movies if it is part of a social plan or we go to the cinema. The only content I consume when I am alone now is books. At first, I couldn't read for 3 minutes straight without unfocusing, and I read each paragraph 3 times to get it, but it is amazing to notice how you slowly get better if you stay consistent.

Still a work in progress, a few setbacks along the way, but you have to think longterm.

Sorry If you find this hard to read, English is not my first language.

I recently deleted my social media but I keep getting the urge to keep up, the thing is I was never that person. I like to live a simple and mindful life. My diet has also changed because I used sns for sometime, hence I would like to know about others life who live without social media and distress..

I've wanted to do this for a while but kept delaying because I was just too comfortable with my smartphone. But my boys are 5 and 2 years old now and the older one has lately asked me why I'm always on my phone. Broke my heart so I decided fuck it, my sons and wife deserve a better me. I instantly felt relief when I swapped my SIM card, powered off my Android, and put it in a drawer. Though now I'm starting to notice how everyone else around me is constantly on their phone lol.

I told my family and my dad acted incredulous, saying he could never give up his smartphone because he's "too addicted to Reels." Shit's depressing...

For those wondering, I got a Sunbeam Pro Dove.

Does anyone here genuinely not watch Reels, Shorts, or TikTok at all? If you don't watch them at all, was it a conscious choice? Did you notice changes in focus or even the way you communicate? Do you ever feel like you're missing out, or has it been worth it ?...

I have gotten rid of everything, last year in 2025 I deleted my 4 year old reddit account. Life was peaceful, then I installed reddit again just some days ago and now I have started to see the same thing here : Reddit is as much toxic as other places though I have seen some positive things here like this helpful community. Maybe it is time to finally let all my social media rest, how are you guys finding reddit ? Are you planning to leave this site at some point too?

Please don’t judge me because I already feel ridiculous writing this lol 🫠

There’s a couple from a reality show (think Love Island/The Circle type) who I became fascinated by because they seemed like such a random pairing. Then I saw more pics/videos of them together and somehow became obsessed. I like them both, but especially the girl… she’s ridiculously gorgeous, so that definitely contributes. 😂

They barely even post each other. They’ll occasionally drop a story, TikTok, or gushy comment, and somehow the lack of content has made me MORE obsessed. I’m constantly checking socials, analyzing reposts/comments, and looking for photos from other people. Basically doing social media detective work. 💀

I’m happily married and love my husband and kids, but life is pretty repetitive right now. I think this gives me novelty and dopamine. I also have ADHD and tend to hyperfixate hard once something grabs my brain.

I don’t want to stop following them, I genuinely enjoy them. I just want to get back to “oh cute!” instead of feeling compelled to check constantly or waiting for them to post.

Has anyone else hyperfixated on an actual person/couple like this? How did you dial it back without going cold turkey?

Please don’t call me a stalker 😂 I know it’s ridiculous, which is why I’m trying to break the habit.

I got a radio 2 days ago and instead of scrolling i’ve been checking out the music on FM and seeing if there is anything interesting to listen to on AM while eating, but idk if it’s any better than spotify or podcasts? This is my first ever radio, i’ve never used it before
It’s also an mp3 player

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to make sense of a loop I’ve been stuck in for a long time.

Looking back, the roots were always there since childhood. I could never sit still at a desk to study, I had to pace around the entire apartment with a book in my hand just to get my brain to focus. But after adolescence, and especially after COVID-19/lockdowns, things escalated into a completely unmanageable pattern.

My brain operates in constant hyper-active/hunter mode. I get hit with panic-like urges: "I need to capture this thought right now or it's gone forever." I notice every minor detail in my daily environment and feel an intense need to research it, write about it, or turn it into a project. But the moment I try to outline it, I jump to the next idea. Nothing ever gets finished or reaches true depth; it just turns into a paralyzing mental bottleneck.

This has metastasized into severe digital hoarding:

Over 100,000 unorganized screenshots and thousands of saved posts across platforms.

Hoarded folders of courses, topics, and media going back years that I've never opened again.

A constant search for "lost videos" or old thoughts, driven by a dopamine rush whenever I accidentally stumble upon something after months.

When I’m outside at university or work, my mind passively collects observations. But the second I walk into my room and pick up my phone, it feels like a dam breaks. The noise is so overwhelming that it shuts down my basic daily functions and productivity.

I’m really struggling to figure out what this is. Is this classic ADHD (hyperfixation, executive dysfunction, the need for kinesthetic movement), or just a severe dopamine trap engineered by technology and modern digital habits?

Has anyone with a similar background managed to break this constant need to hoard thoughts and information? How do you force a "full stop" on your brain when the panic of losing an idea hits?

Any insights or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.