Are you addicted to the Internet?

In this day and age, it seems like everyone has a problem with something. The most recent and perhaps the most incredible addiction is the Internet. But is this really so far fetched? Many would say that it is not. In recent years, especially in the last two or three years, more and more people have been working from home or remotely to make a living. This is due, in part, to the high price of gasoline, as well as the fact that the United States is going through tough economic times. The bottom line? People are trying to save money where they can. Ever since the Internet emerged in the 1990s, people have been instantly hooked. Now, you can send your friends an ‘instant message’ through AOL Instant Messenger, you can e-mail your grandmother to thank her for that Christmas present, you can post vacation photos on Shutterfly. It was all too good to be true.

Now, the Internet has expanded so much that people can live their entire lives online in a virtual format. You can do your banking, book airline tickets, watch movies, upload funny videos, chat with friends on Skype and much more, all with the click of a button. The Internet has given us almost no reason to need any other source like newspapers, television, or even radio to communicate information. After all, why go through all that trouble getting out of your seat and turning on the TV when you can simply catch up on the latest episode of The Tonight Show online? In many ways, the Internet has made our lives easier, perhaps too much.

Is it any wonder then that the Internet is an addiction for so many? One of the first things we do when we walk in the door is head straight to our computers to check our multiple email accounts and send a quick Twitter message to our friends. But is that really what one would classify as an “addiction”? If you find that you can’t go a day without using the Internet for something, you may have a problem. It may not necessarily be an addiction but a dependency on unifying the Internet for what it is: a viable source of information.

Like anything else, we have to learn to watch for the warning signs that something as simple and innocent as using the Internet isn’t turning out to be something much bigger. Many times, like other types of addicts, when confronted with excessive use of the computer to log on to the Internet, we deny that there is a problem. We’ll make excuses for why we need to use the computer by saying things like, “oh, I just want to check something real quick,” not realizing hours later that we’ve spent so much time online. To combat this problem, we must force ourselves to get away from the computer, take a break, and do something else that is healthy and beneficial to our well-being. Go for a walk; go out and get some fresh air!