Thanks for the insight! I think a big part of it is the endless amount of interaction and fun that OTF brings for me. I'm sure there are deeper reasons like the ones you mentioned, though. Thanks again for providing us with a great thread.
Forum Addiction
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That’s why I just gamble.
kidding, of course, but yeah. I just started using forums again, and they are kind kf addicting.
1 day ago
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#5
BasixWhiteBoy wrote:
Thanks for the insight! I think a big part of it is the endless amount of interaction and fun that OTF brings for me. I'm sure there are deeper reasons like the ones you mentioned, though. Thanks again for providing us with a great thread.
Yeah, they are quite entertaining!
Honestly, I used to be able to get addicted to things quickly, otf, scrolling, eating, lying, until I started reading a certain holy book that I won’t mention bc (mods) but it has helped me cure myself from the addictions. And no I’m not saying this is the magic cure for all your problems, but for me and many other people it is so maybe try it? But you can’t just do one thing you have to involve yourself in the whole process. I still visit this place to play daily games, talk about football and meet new people as well as talk to my friends I have already met. Just an opinion of mine, no hate
1 day ago
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#7
#6 That’s great that it worked for you, and hopefully it will work for others.
1 day ago
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#11
#10 I didn’t say I was addicted, I was just talking about why some people are.
It's basically the same reason as any other social media but I think the biggest reason is it's size, there's enough people that you can recognize almost all of them by being active for a month, but it's also not as small as a gc cuz there's more people who you've never met. At least that's what made it addicting for me back when I was active.
Why are the forums so addicting? I have heard many people say that they are addicted to the forums, or spend a very long time on them. Well, personally I think there are many reasons why this is the case. First is the factor that makes anything addicting: dopamine. Dopamine is survival mechanism that is supposed to encourage the body to do things in the future. For example when we eat, we release a healthy amount of dopamine to encourage us to eat again in the future to stay alive. But things such as drugs or gambling release an unhealthy amount of dopamine, up to ten times the normal amount (yes i did research on this instead of studying for exams!), that not only simply encourage us to do it again in the future, but make it a need or a craving. The forums, obviously, are not on the same level as drugs or gambling, but they do make our brains release some dopamine making them somewhat addictive and rewarding to our brains. Though the forums release only a small amount, the constant switching between threads and the social interaction of them produces an affect similar to "doom scrolling," which is another reason for their addictive quality. Besides dopamine I think one of the key factors is FOMO or fear of missing out. The constant nagging in the mind of what you could be missing by not being on OTF makes us want to stay on for as long as possible or get on when we can throughout the day. I don't know if anyone actually cares, but this was fun to write and something I've thought about recently.