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all right hey everyone welcome back
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today we're going to Deep dive into
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something I think a lot of you can
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relate to internet addiction yeah it's a
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pretty relevant topic these days
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definitely and to help us unpack all
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this we're going to be looking at a
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conversation between Ahmed and Sarah oh
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I know that podcast they always have
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really insightful discussions right so
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they were talking about internet
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addiction why it's so prevalent and what
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we can do about it and you know it
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really got me thinking me too they had
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some interesting points like how it's
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not just about a lack of willpower
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exactly they dig deep into the
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psychology of what makes the internet so
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addictive in the first place yeah one of
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the things they talked about was this
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idea of using the internet as a way to
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escape reality right right I mean who
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hasn't felt the urge to just zone out
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online after a stressful day I know I
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have oh for sure but I think it's more
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than just wanting a break from reality
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like Ahmed was saying it's about how the
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internet offers this this readily
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available Escape from all those those
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unpleasant feelings we might be dealing
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with stress anxiety boredom exactly and
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the thing is those feelings don't just
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magically disappear when we go online if
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anything they might even get worse
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exactly and so we get trapped in this
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this vicious cycle of escaping into the
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Internet only to find that our problems
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are still there when we log off H yeah I
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see what you mean and it's not just
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about escaping reality either right
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there's also that whole instant
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gratification oh absolutely that was
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something Sarah brought up and I thought
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it was a really important Point like
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think about it every time we get a
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notification a like or a comment our
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brain releases dopamine it's that little
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rush of pleasure right exactly and the
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thing is with the internet those
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dopamine hits are constant we're
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constantly checking our phones
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refreshing our feeds looking for that
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next little hit of pleasure and that's
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what makes it so addictive it's like
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we're training our brains to Crave those
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constant rewards right and as ahed
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pointed out the internet is designed to
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keep us hooked the algorithms are
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designed to show us content that we'll
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engage with that will keep us coming
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back for more so it's like it's like
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this constant cycle of seeking
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validation and instant gratification
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which can be really hard to break free
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from absolutely and it's not just
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impacting our mental health either ahed
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mentioned some physical repercussions
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too oh yeah he talked about things like
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uh eye strain neck pain back pain yeah
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all from spending too much time punched
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over screens right and you know those
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might seem like minor things at first
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but over time they can really add up
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they can lead to more serious health
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problems down the line yeah and that's
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not to mention the impact on our sleep
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oh definitely the blue light emitted
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from our screens can really mess with
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our sleep cycles making it harder to
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fall asleep and stay asleep exactly and
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then we wake up feeling tired and groggy
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which makes us even more likely to reach
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for our phones for a quick bck me up and
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so the cycle continues and you know
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another thing that really struck me was
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what Sarah said about how internet
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addiction can affect our social
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relationships right it's like we're so
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connected online but sometimes it feels
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like we're drifting further apart in
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real life yeah like we might be spending
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less time with our loved ones less time
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engaging in face-to-face conversations
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and I think that goes back to what we
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were saying earlier about escaping
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reality like sometimes we might use the
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internet to avoid difficult
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conversations or interactions because
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it's easier to just scroll through
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social media than it is to deal with
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real life issues right but ultimately
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that avoidance just makes things worse
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so where do we go from here it feels
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like we've just been Doom scrolling
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through the problems but I know Ahmed
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and Sarah had some solutions they did
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and you know it starts with awareness
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right like Ahmed said we need to become
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aware of how much time we're actually
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spending online and why are we're
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spending that time right are we using
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the internet for work for connection or
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are we just mindlessly scrolling to
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escape and then like Sarah suggested
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maybe start setting some limits like
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maybe designate specific times for
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checking social media or email and maybe
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turn off those notifications you know so
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you're not constantly being bombarded
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with distractions G that constant
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binging but you know turning off those
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notifications it's easier said than done
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it is but I think one thing that might
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help is finding activities that bring us
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genuine joy and fulfillment offline
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Sarah talked about rediscovering old
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Hobbies or passions like maybe you used
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to love reading or painting or playing
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an instrument and maybe those things got
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pushed aside as you spent more and more
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time online so maybe it's time to dust
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off those old paint brushes or pick up
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that guitar again and I think ahed also
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made a really good point about the
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importance of social support oh
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absolutely talking to friends and family
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about what you're going through can make
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a huge difference it can help you feel
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less alone less isolated right and those
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loved ones can offer support and
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encouragement as you work towards
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creating a healthier relationship with
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the internet and you know if you're
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struggling to make those changes on your
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own Sarah reminded us that seeking
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professional help is always an option
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yeah don't be afraid to reach out to a
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therapist or counselor who specializes
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in internet addiction they can provide
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guidance and support tailored to your
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specific needs and you know it's
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important to remember that seeking help
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is a sign of strength not weakness
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absolutely it takes courage to
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acknowledge that you need help and to
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take steps to get double so much good
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stuff in that conversation yeah what are
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your biggest takeways I think the
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biggest thing for me is that the
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internet itself isn't the villain here
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it's a tool right exactly it can be
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incredibly useful and can connect us to
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so much information and to each other in
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amazing ways but it's all about balance
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right like anything else like food is
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great but too much of it can be bad
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exactly it's about finding that balance
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being mindful of how and why we're using
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the internet and making sure it doesn't
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take over our lives and making sure it's
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enhancing Our Lives not detracting from
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them exactly here's something to think
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about you know how we often talk about
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the internet as an escape from reality
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What If instead we thought of it as a
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tool to enhance our real life
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experiences and connections wow that's a
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really interesting way to look at it it
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changes the whole perspective doesn't it
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it does like how can we use the internet
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to connect with people who share our
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interests to learn new things to explore
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the world around us to be more present
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and engaged in our offline lives exactly
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I think think that shift in perspective
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can be really powerful I think so too
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and that's a great thought to leave us
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with we've covered a lot today and I
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hope you found it insightful I know I
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did take some time to reflect on your
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own relationship with the internet and
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how you can apply what we've discussed
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today to create a healthier more
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Balanced Life and maybe just maybe you
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can even find ways to use the internet
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to enhance those real life connections
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and experiences great advice until next
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time see you then
