Amount of time spent online

I'm really adicted to the net... god knows I would die if net goes down for a little while. But just as you I have tryed to reduce the time I spend here.

I usually just do a quick update to my blog on mornings and read this and other 2 forums in teh morning. I start working on whatever I have to do and after I have finished my 3 work tasks of the day I come in and view some other blogs... usually just Zenhabits and lifehack.org.

I restrain again from the net for a while to dfo my daily workout a quick shower and in front of my comp again to do my homeworkl usually web related too. As youc an see I spend at least 40% of my day plugged in this thing!. BUt that's how it works for me. To balance it out I just leave it for tje weekend. That way I avoid stress and I can focus in having fun with my friends...

Hope this helps a bit!

I spend most of my time with computers from 8am through till 10pm, but only work hours are spent online. Stuff at home is either blogging, forums, reading or gaming. But I don't feel addicted to it, I get up and do things all the time. But at the moment I don't have much better to do or can afford to go out a lot.

Can anyone else relate?

-"allinyc"

Yes and no. I think spending time online is fine if you're being productive. I take two online classes at my college, for example. But I do know what you mean. I do tend to "waste" a bit of time on web sites like Digg and video gaming forums. I've tried to cut back but I can't seem to quit completely.

I'm also addicted to Pepsi! :D Haha, oh well. At least it's not something like alcohol or cocaine! I try to limit myself to less than 20 ounces a day. I'm sometimes successful. :oops:

I'm going this right now actually. Unfortunately, my tactic of avoiding this bad is to keep my computer turned off entirely. I tend to spend hours on the web myself then once I'm done, I'll beat myself up for not studying like I should or just feel horrible in general. In my opinion, Jon has it right. As long as you're productive you've most likely got the mentality that it's ok.

One of the ways I'm combating this habit myself is finding sites like Zen Habits. I'm keeping the sites(three) I find down to a minimum of course since I'd rather not spend all day surfing as I was doing before. Also for blogging, instead of going to the create/write post button and let it flow, I will write it out first on paper then copying it over. There's only so much 'surfing' I can do with a spiral notebook.

I've retyped this message a number of times now, it almost feels like Im rationalising the time I've spent online to myself as I type. Can so relate to this post. I used to feel guilty about the the hours I spent chatting, being nosey and click click clickin! Over time I got out of some bad habits ( ie using it as a way of procrastinating/denial "[insert appropriate word for you here]") I use it now as a tool, not as an escape...baby steps !!. Jons productivity comment is one that connects for me. Finding the balance, clicking for fun or clicking for productivity, they both are required in my life - and thats ok with me :)

I can completely relate. Between online forums, email, instant messaging and general browsing I really have to work hard to not have it all suck my life up completely. Last year I made a concerted effort to cut back, but every couple of months I find myself being dragged in again and have to pull back. I have found the ultimate solution to be routine and acceptance. My most productive time is in the morning, so I don't start anything online when I get in, rather starting my work immediately. I open up my email at 10am (unless I'm in a zone with something, then I rather keep going). At lunch I do my browsing and IMing. In the afternoons I'm less rigid because my productivity progressively drops anyway.

yea its pretty addicting.

I work online and I am trying to focus my day so that if I have a family in the future I will work (God-Willing) from 9-3 and then be done with the web for the day.

I'm an information whore, and was on the Internet back when there was nothing on it, so now that we have such wonderful blogs like Zen Habits and sites like Wikipedia, I find that I can spend hours online just learning and reading.

I used to feel guilty, but I find that some simple tools can cut back on your online time, without cutting back your "hit".

One, is to use a feed reader. Pretty much everything these days has an RSS feed, so why bother visiting dozens of "regular" sites manually, when I can have it all delivered to me at once!

I use Google Reader, and then I can quickly peruse post titles and thereby cut back on reading posts that I'm not interested in.

I say don't feel guilty about socializing either, how can creating positive communities be a bad thing? (Although, if a forum goes from Flame War to Flame Armageddon, get out quick!)

I find that the more time I spend online, the more time I spend offline, not because I feel bad, but because I discover something new, something that makes real life more interesting. Learning about weight-loss online helped me lose weight in real life, got me exercising when no one in real life could convince me that it was a good idea.

In the "real-world" you are limited in your connections: you can only buy from stores you're physically able to visit, your friendships are limited to the people who live near you (and if they don't share your interests, too bad), and even your chances at romance can be limited by who's "around" (what are the odds that your "perfect match" also happens to live close by?).

Sometimes, we're stuck in locations with homogeneous people: but what if you're not part of the hegemony? If you can't find people around you who are say, interested in Zen Habits and simplifying your life (living in uber-materialistic Hollywood mayhaps?), then find them online!

Everything in moderation, got to mix it up, both online and off, but don't feel bad if you're swinging to one extreme or another.

If your external geography doesn't mesh with your internal geography, then seek that mesh online! More internet!

If your external and internal geographies do mesh, then by all means spend less time online. But, go on a little anyway, who knows what new interests you could spark!

I've had a severe case of internet addiction for a long time. I actually think I'm a recovering internet addict. I still spend way too much time online, but not quite as much as I used to, and not anywhere near as aimlessly. Sites like this CAN be helpful and not just an escape. I really think my life would improve if I even spent less time on the web, though... I'm actually happy when I don't have an internet connection, because then I actually get something done now and then. :)

I just spent three days out of town at a cabin in the mountains where there was: (1) no cell phone service, and (2) no internet connection.

It was like being weaned, or quitting smoking, or going without food. I feel addicted to the internet and could hardly wait to get back to civilization. I love the wilderness, but I guess I love it in small doses.

Three or four hours a day online is normal for me. I don't feel guilty about it either. Did we ever feel guilty about spending the same amount of time in front of the television? Well, maybe, but I got over that too.

Gruggers in Missoula Montana. (http://gruggersway.today.com)

Yeah Grug, I know how you feel. I went on a surfing/camping trip months ago, and not having the Internet for a whole weekend was interesting.

To be fair, I do make a living with computers and the Internet, so I am more inclined to be attached to it. I just love having all of this information at my fingertips.

I do what another poster mentioned and just witch my computer off. I work in web development so I'm online all day at work, and I've found this actually dulls my desire to browse the net at home so much anymore - I check my feeds, forums, email, then tend to shut it down for the rest of the evening. Most of my gaming is console based so that helps too.

I used to spend way too much time on the internet when I was at university, though. PArtially I think it's because it was easier than looking at some of the other problems I was facing. Dealing with those things in my life made me want to run away from it less (not that I'm saying that's the reason people get addicted to the internet - but looking back, I can see that was part of it for me, as well as the fact that I adore data *tweaks the-flow-of-information's cute little binary-cheeks*

I miss having Google as a quick and easy solver of disputes when it's not around. I installed an internet timer and over the span of a year it actually helped me keep "on track" when online and made me less content to just browse boring stuffs. I still clocked in 800 hours in that year, though. The timer helped deter me from procrastinating as it counted away down in the bottom corner. I gave myself daily time limitations when I had a project, and also completely blocked my favorite time-wasting sites.

For those of you with Firefox I think internet timer is a very useful add-on.

Totally addicted here! I have a timer that tells me how long that I have been online...not that I pay much attention to it! :roll: I really need some good tips on how to curb this addiction.

I have tried to limit myself to three forums and 3 blogs which I read everyday. I have been trying to consolidate my email addresses down from 5 to 3 (work, and two home) so that is helping some. I also have been turning the computer off when I am not using it, because the urge to surf is just not there if I have to wait on it to boot up. Any other tips?

klar, if you're looking for good tips on cutting back on online time Leo has done some posts in the past that offer great advice. I have a couple of posts on my own blog on the topic as well (in my sig) just look through the stuff tagged with 'productivity'.

Thanks! I will take a look! :-)