Did you apply the same question to your TV viewing? What about movies? Video games? Reddit is entertainment. Do you enjoy reading it? Then it's enriched you about as much as those other activities.
Yes. I quit mindlessly watching TV long before I stopped using Reddit or reading low quality newspapers. Probably around 15 years ago? Streaming services became usable here (in Norway) a few years later and they lead to me (well, me and my wife) spending even less time watching TV. Things became a bit more structured. We usually watch the news at 1900 on the public broadcaster here in Norway (NRK), and then perhaps a movie, a documentary or a couple of episodes of some TV series.
About 3-4 days out of the week we only watch the news broadcast, and then spend time downstairs in our hobby spaces. I build electronics, 3D print stuff, program etc, and my wife does various textile projects. Some days we spend a good 4-5 hours just making stuff. Or we go for bike rides.
In fact, the only reason we still have basic TV service is because my wife likes to watch baking and sewing shows live (as they air for the first time). (Can't remember the name of these shows ... "Great British Bake-off"?). About once or twice per year I try watching movies on regular cable TV (well, IP based "cable") and I find the experience really annoying with all the commercial breaks.
Spending less time just mindlessly scrolling through reddit or low quality "news" sources also means I have more time to read books. I don't think I've read this many books per year since I was in my 20s.
I find the things that I've replaced Reddit (and other things) with far more enriching and fun. I regret not being more selective about what I spend my time on in the past. I've wasted a lot of time on things I didn't enjoy all that much.
Comments
Did you apply the same question to your TV viewing? What about movies? Video games? Reddit is entertainment. Do you enjoy reading it? Then it's enriched you about as much as those other activities.
Yes. I quit mindlessly watching TV long before I stopped using Reddit or reading low quality newspapers. Probably around 15 years ago? Streaming services became usable here (in Norway) a few years later and they lead to me (well, me and my wife) spending even less time watching TV. Things became a bit more structured. We usually watch the news at 1900 on the public broadcaster here in Norway (NRK), and then perhaps a movie, a documentary or a couple of episodes of some TV series.
About 3-4 days out of the week we only watch the news broadcast, and then spend time downstairs in our hobby spaces. I build electronics, 3D print stuff, program etc, and my wife does various textile projects. Some days we spend a good 4-5 hours just making stuff. Or we go for bike rides.
In fact, the only reason we still have basic TV service is because my wife likes to watch baking and sewing shows live (as they air for the first time). (Can't remember the name of these shows ... "Great British Bake-off"?). About once or twice per year I try watching movies on regular cable TV (well, IP based "cable") and I find the experience really annoying with all the commercial breaks.
Spending less time just mindlessly scrolling through reddit or low quality "news" sources also means I have more time to read books. I don't think I've read this many books per year since I was in my 20s.
I find the things that I've replaced Reddit (and other things) with far more enriching and fun. I regret not being more selective about what I spend my time on in the past. I've wasted a lot of time on things I didn't enjoy all that much.