Thank you for posting this. Restored a little bit of faith in humanity for me. It just felt like people were being needlessly cruel to someone who is clearly struggling.
My concern is that when I read these articles, the authors often seem to be speaking for more than themselves. It seems as though they are projecting an unhealthy addiction on all members of society. I see that as likely incorrect and potentially harmful.
I'm not certain what's unhealthy about what you listed other than the self-imposed exhaustion. Humans have been exhausting themselves unhealthily long before the internet came about. If you feel you're doing so, by all means, find the way to give yourself the rest you need.
I don't mean that at all. That's the point. I happen to not use any of those services you listed, but I do use discord to communicate with friends, and I enjoy listening to podcasts/audiobooks for entertainment. It's more common than not that I am listening to a podcast or audiobook when I take my dog on long walks in the evening, but I just don't see that as a sign of an unhealthy addiction.
I can't hardly be bothered to check email when it's relevant to do so.
If the people I care to talk to are in the room with me at the time, I don't need to get on my phone. That's not always the case. Sometimes I will stick my nose in my phone in a public setting, and it's not intended as a slight. I just have a fancy in my head about something I'd like to go read about.
However, this is more to my point. My separation from the internet has never needed to be some all-encompassing effort. I have never thought about needing to make sure that there is absolutely 0% access for an extended period. If I go on a multi-day backpacking/camping trip, it's not to escape the internet, it's because I like being outdoors.
Unfortunately, I have neither the proper information nor interest to dig into that specifically. My best recommendation is to look into why I might have said that, and decide if you care at all what I thought. If so, take actions to change what things that you have a desire to change.
I feel like I have read this same article two dozen times, each by a different author.
The internet and I grew up together; it's nearly always been a part of my life. I use the internet every day for several hours. My career involves constant use and access to the internet. I also get my news and communicate with friends via the internet.
All that said, I spend time away from the internet every day and not as some forced action to distance myself from it. I don't see the internet as some perverse addiction that I need to break. If I'm not working for a stretch of days, there's a good chance that I will not use the internet simply because no situation comes up that calls for it.
The idea that 3 days away is life and mind altering is deeply concerning to me.
I'll be honest, I didn't expect the article about the anti-intellectualization of our culture to be veiled apologetics for Joe Rogan. It's not censorship to choose not to spend every moment discussing the basest topics that have already been belabored far beyond what they deserve.
If you want to argue that the potential harm of a large group of people other than yourself is fine, I won't censor you. Stand in your truth and hear what everyone else has to say about the matter. Considering only your own unpopular opinion while ignoring all others does not a philosopher make.
Do the moderators engage when someone says "Dude, that was fucking sick!"?
I'm just saying, I'm not surprised that a moderated server is more, uh, moderated, compared to an unmoderated server. I'm not sure the individual word choices are the determining factor compared to having someone paying attention and removing people with undesired behavior.