Have you watched The Perfume? Do you know this scene? The music above is the soundtrack to the lizard-brain serotonin-releasing real-world fugue-state equivalent your future self will look back to in the same kind of shame you experience when people retell you, with great amusement they do not want to show, your drunk adventures from last night you only remember disconnected pictures of.
Tag: addiction
Living Life on the Small Screen and The First Steps of Combatting Internet Addiction
Or on any screen, I might add. I’m putting this HighExistence post right here to remind me in the coming days of my resolution to fight my internet addiction, and at the same time help you, dear reader, ask yourself whether you’re rockin’ in the same old boat. We have to do this together.
Because infinite novelty is becoming a real problem, you know.
I have been counting my growth-killers and the distraction brought about from the internet has definitely been my No. 1 for months now, if not years – if not for far more than I dare to admit. I’ve been more than reluctant to do anything long-term to try to stop it, which proves that I really am addicted to the internet. Remember The Shallows? It’s no accident I pursued to read that book and praised it so much in my review.
A few resources in case you’re about to take this as seriously as I am:
Step 1: Do some reading: NoSurf, in the vain of NoPoo or NoFap. Will help motivate you and make you see that it’s not just you…
Step 2: Treat it like a real addiction.You have to take measures to distance yourself from your poison. HabitRPG (I’m a sucker for gamification, baby), Chains.cc, Freedom, Leechblock, RescueTime are good starting points.
Note that I haven’t implemented all the above yet but I’m making this open call for everyone interested to start together, inspired by some people who opted to stay away from the internet for 30 days and one who even made a blog to document the process.
Tom Bissell
During one of my latest web strolls I stumbled upon (not using StumbleUpon but doing it the old-fashioned way, you know, by actual chance) Tom Bissell. He’s an author and columnist who writes, among other things, for and about video games. I thought his style and content was heartfelt and had something genuine and important to say. Here’s what made me instantly interested in his work:
Video games: the addiction (his story of being simultaneously a GTA4 and a cocaine addict and how he reminisces both experiences)Poison tree: a letter to Niko Belic about GTA5 (the way I see it, a spiritual successor to the above article. Includes big realisations and critiques on the industry with which I completely agree)
I’ll leave the rest of the reading to you. Now I’m waiting for a couple of books he wrote to arrive in the mail, one on video games (Extra Lives) and another (The Disaster Artist) he co-authored with Greg Sestero -that is Mark from the legendary movie The Room (!)- on the story of the film and that of Tommy Wiseau. Can’t wait!
No More Turns
Horribly true, especially during exam periods… And it’s not just for Civ IV. I get it with Europa Universalis III as well: one more year… which turns into “one more decade”.
I think they should make a “History Game Anonymous”… Maybe this way I can finally find some other people who enjoy the same games as I do in real life! But NO! This is obviously not the right mindset…