Does internet cause sensory overload/overwhelment for you?

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Hello all, I'm a long time lurker on here who has finally signed up to join. Read so many useful and fascinating threads on here over the years.

Anyway, I was just wondering, does anyone else ever find spending too much time online causes sensory overload issues? I find sometimes I take in so much information that eventually it becomes overwhelming and I start to feel burned out, the same way I do when I'm having sensory overload issues when shopping... tiredness, dizziness, irritability, a bit of a headache, unable to focus etc...

The irony is I often go to the internet on my mobile or PC when I'm feeling overwhelmed and stressed as it's an easy/predictable activity but often I feel worse afterwards. Twitter seems particularly bad for me, sometimes I find myself just mindlessly scrolling and I'm not even having fun or feeling anything.

I've tried many tactics such as having one tab open at a time or turning off when I start to feel flustered, but it's easier said than done sometimes... as it's sort of addictive and comforting, even when it's overloading me if that makes sense? Plus, sometimes I don't even notice until it's too late. It's a crutch or a distraction I turn to when things are pissing me off, but it's also yet another sensory thing and maybe I'd be better off going somewhere completely quiet and low-sensory in these situations. Sometimes I've even considered downgrading to a "dumb phone" and just going online in the evening, but I do find Spotify and Google Maps very useful. Spotify certainly helps to regulate my emotions.

I also wonder if going online too much actually dilutes the experience of life. I'm old enough to remember the 80s and 90s and in some ways it was a much more exciting and deeper experience to go somewhere beautiful, play a new videogame, watch a movie, listen to an album etc because we didn't have the option to do those things any time at the click of a phone. Sometimes I think there's just too much choice now... this also adds to the overwhelment issues as it just means more thing to think about (what website shall I go on, what video shall I watch, what playlist shall I listen to etc) I think it has lowered my attention span too. I used to find it a lot easier to sit down and watch an entire movie before the world became so overly connected, now I can't be bothered most of the time.

Any thoughts on your relationship with the internet, autism/sensory issues you have with it and how you get the balance right would be appreciated.

Thanks

The internet can be a dangerous place for Autistics and experiencing sensory overload especially when watching YouTube videos so I have to be really careful while doing this. If I watch videos that have any kind of violence in it, or fighting of any kind, or mean-spirited pranks than I will come close to having a meltdown. And there have been many times where I have had meltdowns due to watching the wrong kind of video on YouTube.

I have to exercise extreme caution and I recommend that every ASD out there do too because YouTube videos are a primary source of sensory overload for me. Specifically, because they have access directly into my comfort zone and into my apartment. So it gives me that uncomfortable sense that somebody is invading my safe space, so to speak.

Also videos that are antagonistic in any way with people depicting actions that are designed to provoke some kind of reaction in another person really get to me as well. So I guess all-in-all, any kind of negative video whatsoever will set me off and cause me to stim aggressively for hours afterward.

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*** High Functioning Autism - Asperger's Syndrome ***

ADHD, OCD, and PTSD.

Keep calm and stim away.

Hello, yes I agree with everything you put. I think it was much better before and I still live like that to a large extent. I only go online on my laptop at home, I don't even leave they WiFi (internet) plugged in. I go on most days for WP, to check emails, and ITV Player. I have the radio non-digital and a few CD's and a few DVD's that I watch on my laptop. I find it all overwhelming, particularly if I go to someones house, it's as if the house is buzzing.

I can't live without the internet. It's the way I talk to my friends, indulge in my fantasies, feel like I have some sort of a chance to be myself and not a fake when I'm offline in the real world, do my college work etc.

It only really gets to be a problem is when I look at the computer screen for too long and it causes my vision to become blurry and I get a headache, then I tend to back away from the computer.

Everything else like being banned from chat rooms for posting Sonic art, receiving messages to kill myself because of my sexual interests and being showcased on sites like Kiwi Farms does upset me and has made me do things that hurt myself, brought back terrible memories of being bullied and the like... But they are not things I would completely void myself from having access to the internet. I do like watching YouTube, downloading things at my own leisure and having the connection with my friends.

Despite how many times I tried to "kick the bucket" when it comes to my life on the internet, I can't really do it...

Not really too much. I need breaks from it to let my mind do it own thing for a while. But that's about all for me that I can think of.

Only when applications are poorly written causing a kind of ping-pong effect from their expectations for certain information on a cascade of pages. The simple act of initiating or logging into an application or secure web site turns into a nightmare.

It all reminds me of the phrase "why are you making it so difficult for me to give you my money (or 'hits' to your site)?!?"

It does. For me, it's when I have too many things going on at once. I especially have issues with Tumblr and Twitter and I'm starting to have them with Facebook. It's when too many things are happening at once. Also, I have been harassed online too and it really upsets me, possibly more than it would upset other people. When I've received bullying messages, I have shut down and had meltdowns, so I am very cautious about who I allow into my online life, but even as I have found this morning, some people I trust as "safe" aren't as safe as I think.

It amazes me what some (a lot) of people put online about other people , it's as if they don't think they are talking to or about a real person. I don't understand what they get out of bullying people and telling people to die. It says nothing about the victim and everything about the person making the comment.

I have trouble with things that blink and pop up, and can't watch videos either. Sometimes I have to cover parts of the screen with my hand so I can focus on what I'm reading.

Yes. I have never owned a TV, and find it hard to concentrate or sleep now that I'm watching video clips. I think that the rapid video editing is particularly pernicious.

No, not really. I find the internet a very useful escape and will retreat from my colleagues at work by concentrating on it, rather than whats going on around me. However, I do not any of the social networking sites (except this one).

It’s a double edged sword, as the Internet has let me indulge in several of my main interests over the years, even my main interest art has the Internet as one of the primary sources to research,look for inspiration,look for reference images etc. At the same time getting caught up in what goes on in the world can be stressful. Too much internet I feel burned out, stressed,overwhelmed,but without it my world ceases to exist. With the type of art I do it would be almost impossible to do it without the Internet. Balance is the key, but balancing isn’t the easiest when it comes to interests.