How to Detox YouTube Addiction

Redirect yourself

Redirecting the need for satisfaction. Addiction occurs when you begin to need a specific stimulus to feel fulfilled or satisfied. Explore healthier and more active alternatives to achieve the satisfaction you seek.

Find another hobby. You can find other things to do to distract yourself from YouTube videos worth watching.

Painting and crafts. Who knows, maybe you'll satisfy your need to watch videos and at the same time feel much more satisfied when making crafts, even if it's just papier-mâché sculptures or origami.

Draw a picture. Instead of watching videos endlessly, being creative is a positive thing. You can gain true satisfaction from creating art, while also detaching yourself from the circumstances that lead to your YouTube addiction (like having nothing good to do, or even having free time in life).

Play sports. Getting outside and being physically active is one of the best solutions to pull yourself away from unhealthy addictive behavior. Not only will your physical health improve when participating in a team sport, but your mental, emotional and social life will also be happier.

If you don't have friends with similar interests, you can still go to the local park to play some basketball.

Find a local intramural league for the sport you enjoy.

Find a local spot for some shuffleboard, chess, checkers, even cornhole if you don't feel like playing a physical sport.

Play music. Creating music is a great alternative activity that has undeniable benefits to help you quit YouTube addiction.

Invite friends to play music together. This is a great way to improve your social life while eliminating YouTube addiction. Playing music not only directly treats addiction syndrome, but also has many benefits, such as helping you improve your time management and organization skills. Thanks to that, you can control your activities instead of sitting engrossed in YouTube.

If you know how to play an instrument, find inspiration and start practicing again.

Learn vocal music. Have you always wanted to sing better? There are many vocal courses for you.

Instead of watching YouTube videos, record yourself playing a musical instrument or singing and post these videos of your artistic creations online.

Set up internet-free zones. When you're addicted to something online, like YouTube, you should implement activities that don't involve the Internet (or even technology) in your daily life.

Leave your phone or tablet at home when you go out hiking or walking around the lake. Even though these are purely outdoor or just physical activities, there are still opportunities to binge on online videos (like when camping).

When you go to lunch at work, bring a book or magazine to the coffee shop instead of your tablet; Even if you plan to read books with your Kindle Fire, there's a chance you'll end up mindlessly scrolling and watching videos.

Enjoy a vacation away from technology. You can join some camps with the sole purpose of freeing yourself from the need to use the Internet and social networks.

Going out and enjoying a few days or a week completely disconnected is a great way to break the cycle.

You don't have to live without technology completely. Completely eliminating the ability to respond to addiction will also partly help you control your using behavior.

Eliminate any involvement

Block YouTube on computer. If you want to pause, ask your friends or parents to set a password on your computer so you can't access YouTube.

Limit computer time. Set strict time limits for yourself when using screens - generally you shouldn't spend more than 4 hours a day in front of a computer. Using the computer too much can lead to some serious problems, such as:

Musculoskeletal problems.

Headache.

Damage caused by constant stress.

Vision problems.

Control your computer usage time. If you are only mildly addicted, you can gradually reduce your need by controlling the time you spend on the computer.

Complete work on the computer first. During your allotted computer time, make sure you tackle work first, then YouTube videos. One of the benefits of breaking an addiction is that you will be in control of your time, instead of being controlled by your addiction.

Use time management software. There are a number of programs that help track the time you spend on different applications, so you'll be able to see exactly what you're spending most of your time doing (or not doing).

Use an Internet management service like Net Nanny or K9 Web Protection. These are control programs where parents can set up blocks for certain websites, or manage screen time for specific apps available each day.

Use the Internet to improve yourself instead of getting caught up in entertainment for instant gratification. The Internet is a gold mine of instant information, history and all other types of knowledge. Use the Internet to learn.

Recognize the problem

Accept that you are addicted. As with any addiction, the first step is recognizing that you have a problem. YouTube attracts millions of viewers, so it's easy to spend more time than expected watching videos. . Recognizing the early signs of addiction plays an important role in treatment.

Recognize the tendency to alienate. Are you pushing away friends, family, or people who care about you? When addicted to drugs, alcohol, video games or even YouTube videos, one of the first signs addicts tend to show is wanting to be near the triggers of their addictive behavior.

Check your health. Addiction syndrome (even though it is not related to substances) often affects the health of the addicted person.

Has your hygiene deteriorated? Are you starting to neglect your hair, nails and teeth?

Pay attention to your eating habits. Addiction can lead to a lack of interest in the substances you put into your body.

Do you often have mood swings? Irritability (especially when you're not engaging in the addictive behavior), depression, and anger can be signs that you have a problem.

Are you defending yourself? Another sign that you have a problem is your tendency to find excuses to continue the addictive behavior.

People who are not addicted will see this as a negative behavior and want to eliminate it.

If you are addicted, you will try to rationalize why this behavior is normal, and therein lies the problem.

Recognize when addiction is having a negative impact on your life. As you move into the middle or late stages of YouTube addiction, you will begin to experience negative effects on the positive aspects of your life.

Is your job going downhill? Have you ever missed something to do because you were engrossed in watching videos online?

Are you spending less time doing other physical activities? Typically, addiction results in a significant decrease in time spent exercising, participating in events, or other physical and social activities.

Marvin Fry

Update 27 November 2023