[aronowb14]

> make doing the right thing easier and the wrong thing harder.

I’ve never heard it put so succinctly! In the realm of breaking social media addiction I’ve tried to block all feeds on my laptop using chrome extensions, logout on mobile. To be honest: it’s the “make the right thing easier” that has been tricky for me. I’m trying to read more, but frankly post work tiredness does make diving into good books kind of tricky. Not 100% sure what the right “right thing” to replace social media in my life is yet.

[notreallyserio]

I struggle with that as well. It's easy to point to the wrong things about social media (doomscrolling, say).

My solution for Twitter, which is a work in progress, was to create a second account that is focused on being more "positive"[0], and leave that one signed in. That makes the right thing easier. I use it to post jokes or interact with content creators that I enjoy. If I find myself wanting to interact with something that makes me feel angry, like some shitty thing a politician said, I think to myself: "which account do I want to use for this?" If it's the account I use for negative stuff I have to go through extra work to use it and then I don't bother. And nothing of value is lost.

I haven't found an ideal solution for reading. I bought a Kindle and have been using it every day but I don't know if it's because it's still shiny and new or because I've started a new habit. I do carry it with me throughout the house so it's pretty much always in view, which may help me consider doing the "right" thing (maybe pick it up instead of my phone).

0: Of course I'm assigning right and wrong, positive and negative, arbitrarily. That's ok for me because I'm not having a philosophical debate with myself, heh.

[b3morales]

Absolutely: I think the one of the follow-on "secrets" after dealing with the bad habits is that you also have to pick the right good habits that will actually work for you. Take exercise. Some people love running; for me it's a horrible chore, but on the other hand I love long bike rides. Who knows why.

Maybe I think I "should" read a bunch of philosophy. But if it doesn't do anything for me, it won't develop into a habit. Maybe if I try a variation, like political philosophy, that will feel rewarding. And it might even lead back to the original thing.

The key I think on both the good habit and bad habit sides is being conscious of what you're doing. (Not to say this is easy though!) The new good habit you want can be hard but rewarding, or it can just be self-mortification, and you have to adjust somewhat to that reality.

[logosmonkey]

Personally, I've started using Busuu and Duolingo more. When I get the urge to go to reddit I try to divert and go to one of those two apps and do a couple of sections. It doesn't always work but it's something.