“I think I may be addicted to the Internet”
Posted by MrWoods in Tech, tags: addiction, computers, Eric Woods, internet, Mr Woods, net, techy, timeHow do you tell if your addicted to the net or not? Hell I don’t even know where to start on that topic. Some people say that its impossible to have an internet addiction because that type of disorder doesn’t exist. While others will say that internet addiction does exist and its a serious problem for a lot of people. I must take the side that says the addiction exist. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to explain what the hell is wrong with myself, lol
There are MANY people that are in the same boat. If they aren’t sitting at a computer on the net then there’s a problem! OH WAIT no there isn’t because they more than likely have a mobile device with full internet browsing capabilities, or even worse a netbook/laptop with them at all times!
Damn, I’m guilty of all of the above lol.
If you do a google search for Internet Addiction you’ll find all of these sites that explain the topic and also give you an option to take a test. This way you can see just how much of a GEEK you really are 
I took one of the test just for the heck of it and the damn thing told me that my time spent on the internet is greatly affecting my life and personal relationship, lol. Isn’t that some @#$%! I mean yea I might dabble on the net for long periods at a time and I may always have a internet capable device attached to my hand. I may also be ON that device every second I can get, but that in NO WAY is any indication that I am addicted to the internet. Nor does it indicate that it is greatly affecting my life and personal relationship. I mean I HAVE to be on the net all the time because I conduct a lot of business over it and I need to be accessible at all time…….RIGHT? YEA, THATS IT! lol. Now for those that say that internet addiction doesn’t exist I really don’t see their reasoning for saying so. With anything else if you indulge in it too much then its an addiction right? Things like Gambling, drinking, smoking, shopping, eating are all things you can be addicted to. What makes the internet different?
Supposedly the whole idea and term Internet addiction was made up as a joke by a fellow named Dr. Ivan Goldberg. The guy is famous for naming a disorder that he says doesn’t exist, lol. Check out this except from an web article I found on About.com
Ivan Goldberg, M.D. started it all as a joke. Internet addiction disorder was intended as a parody of addiction disorders. Instead it has become a subject of research, and some people seem to be building their careers on it.
Janelle Brown, in a December 1996 Wired article quotes Goldberg as saying: “It’s all bullshit…. There’s no such thing as Internet addiction. The Internet is about as addictive as work: Sure, there are workaholics, but they’re simply working to avoid the other problems in their lives.”
So now you know where I’m going with this right? If this disorder/addiction doesn’t exist……then what the hell is wrong with me? 
Why do I feel like I need to be on/connected to the net at ALL times? Maybe my net addiction stems from another one of my addictions……I’m also addicted to TECHNOLOGY. Yes I’m a techy so you can always catch me making a trip to Best Buy or sitting in some electronics section of a department store, but that story is for another time and another day.
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lolol i sooooo feel ya my brotha from anotha motha lolol,,, u already know bout all my gadgets and the damn netbook has to be in the bed near me at all times for “just in case” purposes lol but i dont see it as a problem…i just like to be connected lolol
lol. Yea you know what I’m talking about. I don’t see it as an addiction as much as um a hobby I guess you can say. I can stop anytime I want to….Damn now I sound like a Pothead.
hahahaha!!! i definately think it does exist. i’m slightly addicted….to a small degree. i definately do not have a bunch of mobile devices with internet access with me at all times. but any second of free time i have and there is a computer around, that’s where you’ll find me (like right now i’m reading this when i should be taking samples out of the centrifuge lol) and although i do this all day at work, the first thing i do when i get home is log on and check all my accounts (that i’ve already checked like fifty times already lol)….it’s definately a problem….for some its worse than others.
lol. look at you over there trying to minimize the severity of the degree of your addiction.
I hear ya man. I’ve been planning to write about this for a pretty long time, but as you said in the beginning… “Where to start?”.
I think the main question in determining whether one’s internet use is an addiction or not is what they get out of the net vs what they get out of IRL interaction. For instance, instead of spending an hour on Facebook, interacting with people that you’ve met around the country and around the world, is it really better for you to spend an hour sitting in a pizza shop having a slice and a soda? Is it really better for you to be sitting around at the park, checkin’ out chicks?
By better, I mean is it more progressive.. Are you getting the most out of your time and maximizing your effectiveness for the day? If you spend that hour looking over your stats and maintaining your website, does that contribute more to your skillset and understanding of the net? Isn’t that a benefit, like going to school? Aren’t you improving yourself?
I think this term can apply best to people that spend a lot of time on the net DOING NOTHING, like watching youtube and mass-emailing jokes to people. Those people are addicts. Get a life!
OTOH, there are people whose connection to the internet makes them MORE gregarious, not less. It makes them MORE visible than if they walked around in the street for that hour.
So I figure the status of “addict” depends on whether there’s actually anything BETTER for that person to do than be jacked-in.
First thing, Thanks for stopping by and writing man its greatly appreciated. I know your time is limited and valuable these days, NAH MEAN! lol
Now to my reply and You know what. I really didn’t even think about that! I don’t know how I let that pass me during my thought process when writing. Another thing thats funny is that from all of the sites I checked regarding this so called “disorder” not one of them even mentioned what you just stated here.
I think HOW you spend your time on the net TOTALLY changes up everything. Ok so now with that said I feel a bit better, lol. Seeing as how I do spend a lot of time on the net but a lot of that time is spent productively.
You’re welcome, man. Gonna add you to my Google Reader so I can keep up (well, during the times that I actually GO to my Google Reader, haha).
But yeah, man. Think about it. People know who we are IN JAPAN because of time we spent on the net. What’s the alternative? Actually fly over there and try to get props in the street? If I go live and have people from France, England, Israel & the USA drop by and all chat with each other, I’m sorry… that’s a HELL of a lot better than playing stickball!
[...] read Eric Woods‘ article, “I think I may be addicted to the Internet” on March 8th, 2009 and I’m writing my blog response more than two months later, on May 19th, [...]