Have you considered a timer? 15 minutes to take care of some things and then it locks. I think you can use parental controls for cell phone internet time blocks. 

Whatever you need / think of throughout the day, keep a list and get to all the things later in one go.

Hatzlacha 

I'm sure a lot of people disagree, but there could be a mehalech to use the Internet in a healthy way. GYE, Torah shiurim, education. Albeit, it should first and foremost be safe from schmutz.

Wow loving this thread. So many on point posts

Mr94 wrote on 02 Sep 2024 03:03:

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for or not, but check out Project Focus.

I don't have an answer for you, but I can relate to the problem. For me, technology is almost poison for me. I think back to the days before smartphones and computers and how much better a person I was. The internet has ruined so many lives, and there is almost no way to escape it. As you said in your post, there are a million legitimate reasons for being online, but all of those reasons lead to something inappropriate or an endless loss of precious time. Time is the greatest commodity that we have. It is extremely limited; you can't buy more of it, and once it is gone, it is gone forever.

Having Kosher tech definitely helps; eliminating unnecessary tech is also good. I have not found a way to escape the grip of the internet, from banking to shopping to davening. I am on the internet all day. I am writing this right now on the internet!!!

Does having good, clean Kosher apps justify having a smartphone? Does the convenience of doing your banking online make having a computer okay? Does listening to Torah Anytime make going on a walk better, or would we be better just by walking and being alone with our thoughts? 

I don't know these answers and am searching for them myself. I look forward to hearing about your journey 

This Project looks like it's addressing the strain technology causes on family relationships. For myself that's not a real issue for me, I'm not busy on my phone when I'm with my kids or wife. The issue is using technology as an unhealthy outlet during my own personal time.

adam2014 wrote on 03 Sep 2024 10:13:

Very well said, our devices our literally robbing us of our time which is our life. I probably could've learnt Shas 10 times in the time I've wasted on absolute garbage, all in the name of taking it easy, relaxing etc etc.

I have prioritized not using tech when I am with my family. They are all on their phones, but I am not on mine. I am trying to lead by example.
I need help when I am alone and supposed to be working. I am drawn away from my task at hand so quickly. It is not always porn that is the problem (It often is). It can be a YouTube video about fixing the broken sink in my house or a Google search to find directions to a restaurant we are going to that night. These are very mundane things, but they lead to a plethora of evil and time-sucking things.

Also, even when I am listening to a Shiur on Torah Anytime or some other Kosher App, something will grab my attention, and I go onto something stupid. The only way to genuinely stay focused is to eliminate as much tech as possible. It is just that simple for me. I need a Kosher flip phone, a well-filtered computer for work, and that is it. 

Hey everybody, it's been a while just want to share a few things. With Hashem's help I'm 77 days clean! I'm so grateful to Hashem for helping me get to this point, there were times in my life I never would have thought this even possible, I feel like I've broken through a barrier that I could never manage to get past before. The oilam here is incredible and an inspiration, at the end of the day all it took to push me to this point was to reach out and talk to someone. For anyone reading this do yourself a favour and reach out!
One blockage I was struggling with was- as I wrote in the thread title- I have a hunger for technology, my entire life i thought if I can't solve that then I will always eventually end up in the shmutz. I've learnt that while yes technology is a major challenge that we all have to deal with it doesn't have to be that unhealthy technology use=porn. Yes I still struggle with putting my phone down and going to bed (like right now at 12:30 at night, gotta get up at 6:30am tommorow:weary:) , or blowing a hour of time that I'm free on some shtusim, but it's chaluk byisodo that struggle with the struggle with porn. Tech is generally a wasting time challenge, but porn affects your intimacy with your wife. Invest in your marriage, focus on your wife, give her attention, do things for her, care about her, don't be obsessed with sex, then you could be intimate with her and you''ll both enjoy it, and with all that the desire for porn doesn't surface all that often, that's essentially been my avodah the past 3 months and B'H it's working. Oh and by the way when your not busy looking for porn there somehow seems to be so much less to do on the internet! I wonder why??? Anyways that's my update for now.