Thursday, March 31, 2011

A long absence..

Hey guys, it has been quite a while since my last post. I've been away from the blogging scene for.. wow, I just checked and it has been eight days today. :| feels kind of weird being away from the internet for so long, but nonetheless it has been an exciting and eventful week.


I have come to the realization that I am addicted to the internet, and computer use in general. Well, I've always sort of 'known' I had a problem, but I never really took it seriously until now. Having grown up in  the 'Net Generation', I tend to take technology for granted. Although I remember a time before the technological soar upwards (Pokemon season one, anyone? xD or how about 16mb of RAM?), the idea of not having access to the internet and all its bells and whistles frightens me, and I am taking initiative to face that fear.

Rather than spend an entire day online I have decided to closely monitor, or even abstain completely from my computer use. I have intensified my exercise regime and have also begun to eat healthier. I feel that my problem not only lies with my excessive internet and computer use, at least not any more.

My internet use, and the habits I have developed from it, have bled into other aspects of my life without me even realizing. Where online I am impatient, and used to finding out the answer to a question essentially in an instant, so too have I become impatient in the rest of my life. Online I can contact someone and immediately be in conversation, but in real life that is not always possible. The internet allows me to take the easy road to many places, be it information, entertainment, or even just plain old social interaction.

We all know that there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path, and I am tired of being idle. Now, this past week of abstinence I have come to quite a few conclusions. Most importantly, I don't plan to completely cut myself off. I rely on the internet for plenty, and I don't expect to go cold turkey as it will not benefit me. There are things I really enjoy online, like blogging or reading news, which has a 'grounding' effect on me, and puts me into a better place before, during, and even after (provided the news wasn't too bad :P) the experience. I don't plan on taking these experiences away, nor do I wish to.

So, to cut a long story short, I will allow myself a few hours a day to read up on all of my blogs that I follow, and to check out all the headlines of the day. Internet use is very much like a drug, but in ways it can even be more dangerous, as you don't always know you are addicted. Don't worry though, I don't plan on letting myself slip up. :)

Well thank you guys for reading! ^_^

14 comments:

  1. ROMG you're alive!

    Way to see an issue and try to fix it. Good luck. All things in moderation!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abstain... I couldn't do it.
    I mean I... Nope. Not even a little.
    Good luck with that!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you're back =) where were you??

    ReplyDelete
  4. we've all been there my friend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Welcome back. It's good to have you back.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Glad to see you're back. And that you've got a hold on you're "addiction"

    ReplyDelete
  7. hahahahaha And because you posted this I get a 'johannesburg rehab'' commercial onyour side xD

    Ah well I hope you keep blogging, But just like alcohol, too much is never good!

    ReplyDelete
  8. exercise and healthy eating is very good. internet, like anything else i guess, is good in moderation. mmmm, moderation... hehe

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have felt the same way about games but what I discovered is that playing games all day was just the symptom, not the cause.

    I found that when I went cold turkey on games I ended up browsing the net instead.
    And when I gave up the net I ended up reading books.
    And when I gave up reading books, I just ended up sleeping all day.

    What I should have been addressing all along was my motivation to actually do productive things.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anything in excess is bad. People feel like the internet has everything and they don't need anything else, but that's not true. You can't get real experiences on the net that's something that you only can get in real life :)

    ReplyDelete