One way to moderate this is to remove them from your phone and just access them from a PC end of day. There is no value from 24/7 instant access to Reddit or HN (or the majority of network connected apps if you think about it), as opposed to browsing for an hour or two at the end of the day if you have some downtime.
I wholeheartedly agree. I wish it would work for me, though.
In fact, I dislike browsing Reddit and HN on my mobile, as even though Reddit Is Fun (for Reddit) and Firefox (for HN) are excellent for consuming, I'm in it for participation, so I'm limited by touch keyboards, which universally suck.
At this point I've pretty much given up. During my HN-satiated moments, I can't devise a plan that my HN-deprived self won't overcome. Case in point: the last thing I ever posted on my blog, three years and five days ago, was about setting up a HN block at a router level. I was so happy with my trick that I had to share it with the world. Guess how long that trick worked? Less than a week after publishing the blog post.
Just a quick tip - but I understand it's possibly not ideal.
You have a lot of karma, and I've noticed that the karma counter going up feels somewhat addictive. The existence of a "persona" (it's possible you think of your identity here as slightly different from your daily identity) that is only supported by your commenting also might encourage commenting.
I'd propose to nuke your account by changing the password to gibberish (or asking a significant other to put a weird password and keep it written somewhere if you reaaaally want to keep access to your account) and to use HN anonymously. Just give it a try - if it's really an issue for you this has helped me with other things.
Excellent tip. A lighter form, that I use personally for Reddit, is to not sign in persistently. I always use a "private" browser window when I log in, so the cookie isn't saved, and the next time I want to log in I have to go dig the (unmemorizable) password out of my password manager again and go through the whole flow. For me it creates just enough friction.
Can you imagine a form of online social interaction that would lead to more fruitful results?
I recently replaced my reddit/hackernews morning habit with reading poetry and a website I really like.
I identified the driving emotion, novelty-seeking. It drives almost all of my social media use. So I thought of visiting websites where content is posted daily (and pretty much only daily) but highly curated. To my surprise it worked instantly with no friction. So much so that it took me days to realize I hadn't checked hn in a while.
Like you, responding and engaging with comments was what engaged me most with reddit, and at the same time it caused the most negative and wasteful emotions. But it wasn't really about the social aspect, it was all about that orange envelope. In that case, simply logging out helped a ton.
I think plans of rigorous prohibition don't work because they're one single point of failure. Instead, addiction like behaviors are best tackled on multiple fronts: some introspection, some amount of self control/will power, some blocks/hurdles, a more positive replacement. And overseeing all those, a mindfulness practice where you can identify when your emotions arise, both that pull you to your habit (nip those in the bud) and those that drive you away from it ("I should get up", do it right away).
This is my solution for Reddit and HN - which are my "problem" sites as well.
Like just now reading this thread anonymously on my phone and then at a later time, after some more contemplation, going to my computer and writing this comment. That break does three things. First, I get to think about why I am commenting. Second, if I decide that I do still want to comment, I've had some "offline" time to think about it. Third, by the time I am back on my computer I may have just forgot about it, or find that someone had already made the same comment as I had intended.
Only about 1/5 of the time will I comment on something that - after reading on my phone - I had felt compelled to comment on.
Reddit I never look at on my phone. I came late to Reddit - maybe a year ago. But I'm now a Reddit junky and probably spend an hour a day on it. Reddit does make it easier to avoid using on one's phone. For one, they aggressively push their app and I don't install apps. Second, they don't let you look at any content they deem "sensitive" without logging in. The result is that I will only use Reddit on my computer and that for me greatly limits my time spend there as I don't view my computer as an entertainment device.
I've largely taken to the "multiple devices, only one with a sign-on" approach.
I'll read HN / linked articles from my e-ink tablet, which has Internet but for which I've severely restricted any authenticated services.
If I want to comment, I've got to 1) remember and 2) go to a Real Computer.
(Having a full keyboard available is another game-changer. Soft keyboards / touch input on a mobile device not only hugely increases my typo rate but my ability to think and compose, it's brain damage.)
My daily phone time is down by about 70% and the solution for me ended up being simply to start putting the phone out of sight and out of reach when I don't need it, with notifications turned off. In a drawer or in a bag or something.
Seems too simple to conquer this monstrous addiction, but it did. The desire to surf Reddit or HN or whatever else just dissipated over time because the thing was no longer around to distract me. If it rings I'll still generally hear it, dig it out and pick it up. I use it to browse if I'm eating alone or using the toilet 'cause I don't know what else to do with that time. (Maybe I should do nothing, or read a book, like we all did before the phonedemic.) That's about it.
The vast majority of stuff you do on the phone is better done on a PC anyway, like I write better quality messages to people now because I'm doing it on a real keyboard.
I still paw at my pocket sometimes out of habit like a trained rat. Gross. What a horrible era of history the phonedemic was, I'm glad it's coming to an end for me.
