Have you ever just ‘Googled’ something and half an hour later you find yourself looking at a video of cats dancing?
Or perhaps you just wanted to be ‘current on the news’ and again you found yourself watching a video of cats. Trust me you’re not alone. Studies show that the majority of time spent on the internet is wasted time.
The fact that you find yourself aimlessly clicking through websites is not all your fault. The websites of today are designed with the help of psychologists and other experts in human behavior in order to keep you there longer and move you through a funnel. The scrolling and clicking has essentially become an addiction, a mindless behavior.
So, how do you break the addiction? The best way to start is to get in the habit of asking yourself ‘do I really need this information right now?’ Another way is to get into the habit of stop reading after a specific time limit and then to put down or walk away from your device. This gives your brain an opportunity to relax after being stimulated.
Remember the majority of what you are reading is put in front of you for the purpose of showing you advertising. And although you might feel as though you are immune to the ads every pixel on your screen is taking up space in your brain with or without your consent. So maybe next time, ‘don’t just Google it.’