I think I need an internet detox

Hey man, It's good that you are acting on your PMO addiction in a way you are prepared to get rid of the whole internet. Try it out for sure, why not. But in my opinion, unless it's realistic that you can go on without youtube, whatsapp, your social medias for a whole month, you will end up coming back to the internet and feel as if you have betrayed your promise. I say before you do this, is it something you can do realistically?

I am by no way putting you down or saying you can't do it. It's possible and very doable. Of course you know yourself more than I do whether or not you're capable.

If you do go through with this, make sure you have some hobbies and something to take up your time. It will be boring for the first week but as long as you can establish a routine it'll be almost easy.

From personal experience I recommend committing to Nofap for a some period, say 10-20 days - you could even try detox if you like - but be mainly focused on avoiding PMO/FMO. Really challenge yourself. The streak i'm on right now has come from me challenging myself to 20 days. I promised that I allowed myself to fap after I had reached that number of days, but then I decided to stay committed, since my mindset had changed from when I first began my streak - I was very in denial that I was capable and certainly after bingeing porn you have a right to feel this way. You might feel like everything isn't working, hence deciding to do this detox, which is really good but just warning you that you have to be realistic

 

Good luck man.

I do think what you're trying to do will be really tough. I would actually find giving up the internet all together even more difficult than giving up porn and artificial sexual stimulation altogether.

What about having some sort of system where you can get internet access at a certain point each day, night? So maybe at 8 o'clock at night 2 hours internet access? There is certain blockers that can do this sort of thing.

I think this would be a better idea than just trying to stop the internet altogether, or going a month without it, or even only going on it once a week. I honestly think trying to stop the internet altogether in this day and age that you're bound to fail. Even only going on it once a week seems too extreme I would say.

 

Its interesting to me that youtube apparently is triggering for some people. What kind of media do you consume there?
I use youtube for political analysis, medical and redpill content and I have no problem with it.

Anyway, I've tried to cut internet before, like you as I'm a fan of traditional life but like it or not our life is dependant on internet these days. I personally make my money off internet so I can't cut it. If you aren't like me then have a look at r/nosurf

I'd also like to know how being off internet helps with people's life quality.

 

Yeah but I bet you would begin to find youtube much more triggering if it was one of the only things you could access artificial sexual stimulation on.

When I could access porn sites, cam sites, social media sites etc, I would of probably thought the same. I would of thought who goes on youtube for that? But I have realised when the option isn't there to go on the more arousing stuff, that the milder stuff does quickly become much more appealing.

This is actually why I have youtube locked on a strict restricted mode.

 

Interestingly I don't consume any social media and obviously porn! so yes, its possible to avoid sexual stimulation and not be tempted to watch nsfw contents on youtube. it requires willpower and took a lot of time and effort for me to be built.

you might have not needed youtube that much and locked it all up. I did this to my instagram because I see that useful content is rare on that platform and I hate to be feeded nugget information in short videos!

tbh I don't even know what mode of yt I'm on, I don't really care at this point as I don't go for nsfw content on it anymore. Good luck brother

 

I did this last year. The plan was to go a month with zero technology but think I only made it to 12 days and then 10, and then 5 or something like that - so about 27 of the 30 days was without any kind of screens. I did it for the same reasons you said, to put more distance between myself and porn. Ultimately I didn't really miss the internet, it was the porn that pulled me back in. What I did notice though was that the whole reboot process seemed to be in fast-forward but that also meant withdrawals being harder to deal with. Trying to quit porn is hard enough without cutting yourself off from the internet as well, your dopamine levels(or whatever it is going on in the brain) will tank even lower and that's really hard to deal with.

 

There was a guy here that did just that a while back, https://forum.nofap.com/index.php?members/fenix-rising.183067/ he started off 40 days and have not been heard of since so it is definitely a possibility(just don't go hermit or medieval on us).

 

Quitting the internet/technology detox will make you care about your life more instead of escaping from it. But, quitting the internet/technology detox can be a disadvantage when it’s necessary to use it. Ex. Using google to find where you are going, etc. So, just remember that everything has it’s benefits and drawbacks.

 

Internet addiction is like PMO. You will have to change that habit permanently.
It's shocking to see how much time some of us waste online. Youtube was a real killer for me, man. One year ago I was hypnotized 4 hours a day or more on it. No job, no anything. Just dull stuff that I didn't even payed attention to.

Good for you. Cheers!.

 

I have never avoided social media until recently because of too much grievance the news has given. I also think that my addiction with porn is mostly driven by the Internet. My first porn was actually from my dad's internet download cache, I was about 11 or 12. Digital detox is a really good way to take our mind off the internet (well not completely, this forum is a gift). Here is an excerpt from an old article that I think is still relevant for starting your digital detox journey (sorry cant post links yet):

HOW TO DIGITAL DETOX:
1. Declutter your digital devices:
If you think you’re spending too much time on your social feeds, delete the biggest offender, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter or Instagram that’s grabbing your attention. Next, turn off any unnecessary push notifications from your remaining apps. Finally, turn your screen to grayscale, so it’s even less appealing.

2. Set technology boundaries around places:
This means that you designate certain areas of your house where you refrain from using screens; for example, your bedroom, your bathroom and at the dinner table.
You’ll find that by not taking your phone into the bathroom keeps you from procrastinating too, and the same goes for when you’re cooking or cleaning.

3. Create a digital detox schedule:
We normally advise not using your devices in the hour or two leading up to bed due to the impact this late-night screen time can have on your sleep quality. Plus, after most likely using screens all day at work, it’s important to set aside time to do something different, to rest your eyes and your mind.

4. Take up an analogue activity or hobby:
Is there a hobby you ‘don’t have time for’ now? It’s no secret that our screen culture has increased the amount of time that we’re sitting down each day, so why not use this time to do something active? As exercising leads to a release of endorphins, you’d be swapping tech time for a happiness boost.