kaxora

I have tried for a couple of years now to reduce my screen time and focus more on other goals, specifically, reading more. Here are some of the things that have helped me reduce my screen time until now:

• Turn both computer and phone to greyscale mode as often as possible
• Constantly have phone on Do Not Disturb mode, notification sounds off, battery saver mode on (this last one has allowed me to only use 50% battery per day and only charge my phone every other day)
• Apps I use for my (android) phone: minimalist launcher; lock me out; keep me out
  • minimalist launcher: a very simple launcher, black and white, apps are listed in a text list rather than using icons
  • lock me out: set timers for distracting apps (I use Firefox for Lemmy so half hour limit for Firefox, after which there is a 30m lockout; Instagram has 1h lockout after 15m; YouTube has 1h lockout after 15m. This has helped me better manage my usage and I have pretty much stopped using Instagram and YouTube as a result)
  • keep me out: I barely use this now, but you can voluntarily lock yourself out using a timer. Worked well when I was finding myself frustrated after scrolling for a long time and could not seem to stop myself (this was when I didn't have quite as many "lock me out" restrictions).
• view Lemmy, Reddit etc as website in browser instead of using individual apps
• Not nearly as many restrictions on the computer but there is not as much of an urge to get distracted on the computer for me. There is an app called SelfControl which I have on Mac which is a very lightweight and strict timed website blocker, but I don't have to use it very much.

This has helped me reduce my screen time very significantly recently to an average of probably 1-2 hours per day for recreational things. Probably closer to 1 hour most days.

I am mostly using my phone/computer for keeping in contact with friends or family, or doing work / school related things. I would like to continue cutting down on recreational screen use and switching to reading, especially on weekends...

I recently used the Reddit debacle as motivation to finally quit Reddit and switched over to Lemmy, which I hope will further decrease my screentime as Reddit was the final frontier of social media for me, so to speak. Regarding Reddit, I would recommend the book, "You Should Quit Reddit" by Jacob Desforges.

I recently created a community for the practice of semen retention. It is an ancient practice and has ties to Taoism. For me and others it is largely for the sake of self improvement and spiritual / material progress.

I posted on a new communities forum and the post almost immediately has garnered several downvotes. I'm genuinely confused as to why. The practice is not hurting anyone, nor is it rude or offensive.

I am anyway trying to reduce my screen time and time on Reddit, and the new changes they're making spurred me to check out Lemmy when I heard about it. I like the simple feel of it and hope that it will create smaller, tighter knitted communities, encourage individual posting (I never posted on Reddit but it feels more acceptable here somehow), and also help to further reduce my screen time.

I'm glad to see there's a Buddhist instance here. I think this may be the first or second post ever on this instance, so for the sake of encouraging conversation I would like to ask those who may see this post:

1. What sect of Buddhism do you subscribe to? What do you like most about that sect?
2. What is one way you have incorporated the teachings into your life recently, or one thing you would like to incorporate?

For me:

1. Tibetan Buddhism (Gelug tradition). I like the fact that it purports that enlightenment can be achieved in just one lifetime; that negative karma can be purified; and that bad things happening is just our negative karma ripening, which means you are paying your karmic debt in those situations. It's very motivating for this lifetime.
2. I am trying to be more mindful in everyday life because I don't meditate much at all, and I think mindfulness is the next best thing.

I hope this instance / community grows in the future!