QOTD: What's the best way to moderate Internet usage?

[xv]

With TV, the advice is to pick programs you want to watch in advance, and then just watch those programs. If you channel-surf, you get into a state where you'll waste an entire day watching TV.

Comments

[xv]

I already alluded to one strategy: the longer you're online, the harder is to log off.

My solution to this is to regularly break up my Internet sessions. I do this by completely shutting down the computer and removing its power. This is, of course, a lengthy process: both shutting down and turning on. I use the time in between sessions to think about what I really want to be using the Internet for, and I generally get better, specific ideas, like "find out when the library closes" or "check my bank account," as opposed to "check the news" or "chat with friends."

If I feel myself drifting off into an endless stream of clicked links, I shut down the computer and find something else to do.

[kiodane]

I understand that the Mac OS X Parental Controls were created by Apple engineers with the intent to protect computers not from children, but from the engineer's own parents. So, "Parental Controls" takes on a clever second meaning.

Alternatively, you could consider taking up Randall Munroe's strategy of rebooting the computer anytime you discover yourself twiddling your thumbs online. However I know there's a debate on the relative harm done by rebooting vs leaving a computer on.

http://xkcd.com/862/ - Be sure to read the alt text on the image when mouse-over.