changed up my methodology this week, as to not track things all day. i decided on an hour of internet in the morning and evening, backgammon during my coffe time, and a no-internet profile on the laptop at all other times. well, low-internet. no videos or social media, or any other Accounts. internet is allowed for Tools when necessary (dictionary, dvorak practice etc) or playing music or ambient noise. the account is mostly for writing and reading. feels better so far. the 2h per day sometimes feel like too much (yay!) and the separate profile definitely makes me feel less "on the internet". maybe sometime in the future i'll whittle it down further but so far it doesn't seem unreasonable considering it's for All Possible Activities, from important tasks, through socializing, to random fun and surfing.
feelings addendum: it's surprisingly isolating. while i'm allowed socializing at all times (on the phone), and morning and evening on the laptop (more comfortable for typing), that's still only addressing "real" messages - texts from friends, emails - and there's not really all that much of that. it's mostly intentional - i'd rather have substantial contact with people invested in a relationship, only supplemented by more casual comments on social media, with acquaintances. but that sort of in-passing contact is actually most of my interactions, so going without it most of the day feels quite empty. and when you're on social media you can see others interacting and it feels more communal, as if you're participating in something bigger, even if you're personally not actually interacting all that much. watching videos is also a kind of surrogate relationship. seeing people!
what with nobody here actually being covid conscious i haven't really made any local friends since we moved 5 years ago. (i mean i'm sure there are covid conscious people, but not really the case with venues and events where one might organically meet someone, hang out). so online is and probably always has been my primary socializing place. when i unplug from those social media "people in passing" places i feel out of touch with humanity in general. it's not bothering me too much so far, i'm Doing Interesting Things, and maybe i'll just have enough energy and motivation to be a better friend! reach out more, catch up, poke my twice-a-year correspondents into more activity? not sure i have enough energy for that yet, but all will normalize when autumn's in full swing.
