The websites and apps mentioned aren't the sort that people would be addicted to anyway. (this should be blindingly obvious) In fact their very purpose is addressing the problem of web site addiction. Are you suggesting that people might be spending hours and hours on the "screentimeaccountability" web site, as part of their addiction?
Anyway, we're on a web site right now. Isn't any comment on this thread similarly "misguided" (including your own), since that is one more bit of content for the addicted person to consume?
Sure, taking part in the conversation out of concern for my own mental health and seeking external points of view is exactly the same as saying "oh you think you spend too much time online/watching videos? here's an app for that!"
Adding friction will not solve the problem for people with addiction. Telling me to not take part in the conversation if I dare to call out bad advice (or worse, saying calling out bad advice is just as bad as giving it) is quite disrespectful.
"oh you think you spend too much time online/watching videos? here's an app for that!"
I see absolutely no problem with that. The app is not showing videos nor is otherwise addictive in any sense, so what exactly is the problem? Is it simply because it falls under the label "app"? Therefore it must be just as problematic as apps that show videos or otherwise try to keep users engaged for as long as possible?
Your complaint is as absurd as saying "oh you think you are risking a head injury by riding a skateboard? Here's a helmet for that!" I mean, both skateboards and helmets are sports equipment, so it must be misguided to recommend addressing a safety issue with sports equipment with another piece of sports equipment. That's the logic you are using here.
Usually when I am drawn to an addictive web site or app (YouTube and Quora being the big ones for me), it is pulling me away from some other app I should be using instead, such as VC Code, which I am supposed to be using for my job. Again, not all apps are equally problematic.
I've used the selfcontrol app and similar apps for my own issues, and they work. That is not bad advice at all.
Also, addiction lies on a spectrum. I don't know if my issues count as true addiction or not, but they are problems for me. And I have good results with things like the selfcontrol app (which I miss now that I work on windows), and I have used other various mechanisms to help with behavioral tendencies I have that could benefit from external control. As a non-app example.... am I addicted to cannabis? I don't know. I do know I do better when I use a timer lock so I can reduce my temptation to use it at inappropriate times (i.e. hours I want to be getting work done), without eliminating it entirely (since I enjoy it and truly believe I get benefits from it). I suppose if I was a true addict, I'd just walk ten minutes to the pot store every time I got a craving. But I don't, because addictive tendencies lie on a spectrum. Same concept.
Anyway, we're on a web site right now. Isn't any comment on this thread similarly "misguided" (including your own), since that is one more bit of content for the addicted person to consume?