Has anyone thought about just taking away the Internet?

Yeah, problem with an addiction is you have to change yourself, not just the outward circumstances. If you haven't changed yourself, then you will just weasel your way through the outer strictures/ rules you've placed on yourself.

 

You may want to look into dns filtering (i use opendns). As I can recall, you can block internet access according to the time of day (but I am not sure). I know for certain you can block internet access on a schedule using K9 web protection.

In terms of devices, k9 won't really work for them, so you may want to look into setting up restrictions. iOS supports this pretty well, and you can block adult content and whitelist / blacklist sites with it. You can also restrict the app rating and forbid app installs. Not sure about the android options.

 

It all depends on how much internet matters to you.
When internet came out, there was people that became addicted to it. People involved in sports were laughing at the people staying inside the home browsing the net or playing games.

Now with Facebook, skype and other social media, internet usage is democratized and widely accepted.
If you quit smoking, you cant keep a pack of smokes standby. If you are an alcoholic you cant keep a bottle on the countertop "as a decoration".

Internet is not your addiction ,you are addicted to some internet content. If the temptation is too high, get rid of it. I know at my place, its not an option, as I live 5000 km from our family. My wife uses Facebook to communicate and skype to see the grand kids. My kid uses the internet all the time on her phone and laptop...I cannot disconnect here.

 

This sounds exactly like what I've been experiencing for years : I never realized that there was an addiction problem, and it kept coming back through the cracks...

About disconnecting, considering some "0% connected" experiments I've heard of that show a direct hit on our overall sociability, there would be a risk of increased loneliness/less connections with people, that for many of us is a fatal path! Like I read somewhere around here, "The opposite of addiction isn't sobriety, it's connection", what do you all think?

 

Hey this is just an idea .... keep the desktop in plain view.... laptops too .... maybe it may help

 

I've tried going internet free for short periods of time (1-3 weeks) and it is awesome. My energy is up, my temptations are down, my social life improves, I get more exercise. It is an all around awesome thing to do. You don't even have to unplug your internet. You just need to shut down computers and turn off the wifi/data on your other devices. It also helps to put them away in a drawer, preferably with a lock. That way you have a little extra time to reconsider taking them out. If you live with other people and can't physically limit yourself, you can tell those around you that you're taking a break from the internet. You don't need to explain it to them, and if they ask, just tell them you want to experience life for yourself more, and see it less through a screen. They can help keep you honest that way too.

 

Yes, if the internet were your addiction, then you would find another forum for that... wait!

 

I just received my internet bill for the month of December. Due to being on vacation for three weeks and PMO'ing like a boss, I'm nailed with $100 extra charge for going over my bandwidth cap. Porn is not the only contributor, my daughter downloading games on Origin also sucks bandwidth, but still.

Funny thing, but when I deleted my porn folders, it's like I threw that $100 buck down the toilet lol....

NoFap will more than likely make me save money by not going over the cap anymore and I'll also save on tissues

 

It would be very hard to live without internet because of all the things which we have to do which are online. Like people have said, you're only addicted to one part of the internet, so the best way to help yourself is to maybe remove some of your devices(like your laptop) for a while or only use it in plain view of other people.
Getting away from screens and the internet for a week is quite easy to do and is really refreshing, so maybe try that.