Topic: Internet addiction (Read 4983 times)

Anonymous · « **on:** June 16, 2003, 10:38:13 AM »

Well folks, the more I get involved with various forums and chats, the more I realise just how addictive the Internet can become. I’ve been asking myself some serious questions lately. And a recent event got my hamster wheel spinning even more. Initially, I started to ask myself a few questions about this topic because I find the Internet addiction to be quite unique compared to other typical addictions such as gambling or smoking or drinking.

Take a look at gambling for example. Let’s look at video lottery terminals. You start with a couple of quarters and if you manage to cash in five bucks you’re happy. But after some point, you want more. And in order to get more you have to wager more. So you may put in a few bills in the machine instead of quarters. And when you win $50, you’re happy. And after a while, you always want more money, more winnings so you take more risk and go for the improbable royal flush or straight flush. You increase the wager as much as you can. You spend hours in front of the machine every time you play. And it provides you satisfaction when you win big. But you always want to top it… You want to walk out and be bale to say “I’ve won $700 from that machine in one sitting”. Believe me, I’ve done it. Then comes guilt. Every time the machine doesn’t give you the satisfaction and you walk away because you have nothing left to put in, you feel guilty. You are pissed off at the machine and at yourself. You say never again! And the next morning, your ass is sitting on a stool right in front of those suckers. You have a severe gambling problem.

OK, so gambling provides me with potential wealth, so I can see the motivation and I can see what drives me to the addiction problem. But the Internet addiction is totally different. What drives us to spend time on the Internet? Talking to complete strangers? I can’t speak for everyone, but in my case, my Internet addiction comes from the comfort it provides me. You see, on-line, I can be myself without fear of being judge because if I am judge, I can ignore it and not have to deal with it. Ironic that my user name is TheJudge isn’t it? You may ask why I cannot be myself in real life. Well I can, but I’m afraid of what will happen if I do. You see, I’m a very unconventional person confined in a very conventional environment. I purposely do things differently than others. However, I also have some responsibilities. I have a family to take care of. I have bills to pay and I have career objectives. That requires that I be conventional most of the time even if it is against my nature. I have too much to loose. So I come on-line to set my mind free. To share my unconventional thoughts with a bunch of strangers. And I really don’t care how people react to me on-line, I just need to get some stuff out of my system. For example, I can’t tell my family that I think the bible is crap. Because they are religious. But on-line, I can bash God as much as I want. It doesn’t mean everyone will agree or like it, but I don’t have to pick up the broken glass on-line. That’s the difference.

I also like the fact that I can meet other unconventional people on the Internet. I like the fact that there is such a pool of souls on-line that I can pick and choose whom I want to associate with. I like the fact that I can totally ignore those I want to, without having any remorse or obligations. The Internet is a very different place than the real world. Take the morans out of the chat rooms and forums and the Internet becomes a better place to live in than the real world.

Is this sad? Am I a sad sad person? Well, I am sometimes. I am when I feel powerless in real life. And it probably is sad to have to go online to vent and be yourself sometimes. But it’s also healthy: you need to get things out of your system. And you have to acknowledge that not everyone in your real life environment can handle it. In a sense, they are the ones with a problem. You don’t. The Internet becomes a place to relax and to be free. But when the Internet life becomes more real than your real life, then you have a problem. I sometimes ask myself what the hell is a 27 year old grown man doing wasting his time talking to an 11 year old boy on-line? It is pretty sad when you think about it. Why do we do these things?. If we take the time to look at our on-line selves, we may find that we are indeed sad people.

My personal conclusion is that we become Internet addicts because there is something missing in our lives. We have major unresolved issues in our lives and the Internet simply becomes a substitute. I know I’m spending way too much time on-line. It is affecting my life and my work. That doesn’t mean I have to slow down on my Internet usage. It means I have to figure out what the Internet is substituting for. I need to clarify what is missing in my life. And I need to address the problem. Then I won’t have this need or this addiction. The Internet is a good place to be, as long as it doesn’t become a mean to avoid you real life issues, which in my case is something I’ll have to reflect upon further.

udunnome · « **Reply #1 on:** June 16, 2003, 10:17:38 PM »

Wow, long, i read the whole thing...i actually wrote a really long response, then my computer froze and well i didnt get to post it...so heres my second time trying to post, hope it works...

I think that internet addiction has to do with the type of person, like if your the type that worries about what people think about u then u prob. do pretty good on the internet, but i think those who arent like self concious dont really use the web that much. I guess it could be a thing like your missing something in your life. But i think it really has more to like do with the person.

You know how u talked about gambling and how if u won u gained money, well what do u gain from the internet, y do u get addicted to it, my theory: it makes u happy, u can release stress, u can basically do whatever u want. Its a way to be in the world but be excluded, if that makes sense. I think u get addicted to the internet because you can be someone your not. Or you can be you and not worry about what people think. To much of it isnt good though, youll forget how to socialize in the real world, but other than that if you love to be on the internet and it makes u happy and u love it, then i see nothing wrong with that.

Hazard · « **Reply #2 on:** June 16, 2003, 10:48:50 PM »

I really don't care what people think of me. Online, offline, whatever. However, I do spend a ton of time on the internet. I don't really enjoy doing anything else. Summer sports are out of the question, because I have terrible allergies, I also had a couple pretty bad sports injuries that left my knees in rough shape. I watch TV sometimes, but I have the attention span of a pinneedle. Same with games, and stuff. On the internet, I can do 7 things at once, or 100, or however many I want. I can flip from website to website, chatting with my friends, blocking people who piss me off, and not having to go near people who I find annoying. I don't pretend to be somebody I'm not, because I like to meet people who are like me. I compleatly agree with TheJudge's post, because, in a lot of ways, it reminds me of me.

I don't deal with problems, period. The internet makes it a lot easier not to deal with problems. Or, when it comes down to it, it makes it easier dealing with them. I don't want to bring my friends down with my problems, but when I can vent on my blog, people that want to talk, will talk to me. People that couldn't care less, don't. I'm not dragging everybody in to my problems. *shrugs*

Anonymous · « **Reply #3 on:** June 17, 2003, 07:32:05 AM »

The reality is that people get addicted to the internet for various reasons. I just explored one perspective in this article. But there is not one single reason why people get addicted. well, there is but it's quite general. The reason is that Internet provides something you think you can't get anywhere else. What that something is cannot be described as a unique thing. Everyone has different needs. So my in that sense my article is really just a huge load of crap.

Dark Shade · « **Reply #4 on:** June 17, 2003, 08:29:13 AM »

Quote from: TheJudge

The reality is that people get addicted to the internet for various reasons. I just explored one perspective in this article. But there is not one single reason why people get addicted. well, there is but it's quite general. The reason is that Internet provides something you think you can't get anywhere else. What that something is cannot be described as a unique thing. Everyone has different needs. So my in that sense my article is really just a huge load of crap.

I agree, there are multiple reasons why people become so addicted to the Internet, but the generic reason is that we're looking for something we can't get anywhere else.

S'all common sense, really. Judge's on the ball!

Anonymous · « **Reply #5 on:** June 17, 2003, 08:53:09 PM »

I think it finally levels the playing field, so-to-speak. Sometimes, if people don't tell you their age, you'll think that they're at least 25 because of their ability to think. Normally you would not want to talk to someone that is 13 when you are 30-years-old. However, if they are smart, and actually think before they type something, you won't have a problem because they're on your level of thinking.

For me, I don't think it's only "the thrill of talking to people online". It's more of a facination of how this whole thing called "the internet" works. From IP addresses, to domain names, MX Records, and DNS servers, they're all quite amazing. Only a few years ago, things that we do today would be nearly impossible to do, but thanks to advanced networking, we can carry out those actions with great ease.

pseudonymph · « **Reply #6 on:** June 20, 2003, 08:03:56 AM »

I just want to be loved.

and feared.

Anonymous · « **Reply #7 on:** June 20, 2003, 08:07:46 AM »

*gives pseudo a e-hug*

pseudonymph · « **Reply #8 on:** June 20, 2003, 08:15:32 AM »

awww.

but your shaking with fear too right?

Demosthenes · « **Reply #9 on:** June 20, 2003, 12:46:55 PM »

I'm not using the internet as some sort of escapism or substitute for "being myself" in real life... I learned a long time ago that it didn't really matter what people thought of me, when it came down to it, so why should I care? I'm myself online and off... if people don't like that, that's their problem, not mine.

I also have marvelled at the way people interact online. I have "friends" online that if I had met them first in real life, I probably never would have even spoken to. The web's a great neutralizer of barriers in that way, and I would be lying if I said that I haven't grown intellectually and socially because of it. We all have preconceived notions about others in real life... here or on Hackernetwork, for instance, you could never in any real honesty say that this diverse a group of people would ever even be acquaintances in real life, much less anything approaching any kind of friends, even if we all lived in the same area, geographically.

But because of the lack of barriers here, online, here we are. I find that really cool, myself.

I think to some people, who have a hard time, socially, the Internet can provide them some kind of interaction without some of the awkwardness or fear that they experience with meat universe relationships. I don't particularly have those kinds of problems in real life, but I do know some people who do, and interaction online has really helped some of them "come out of their shells" so to speak.

As for "addiction", it's like anything else: if you allow it to detrimentally affect other areas of your life that are important to you or others, then anything can be addicting.

Myself, if the internet were to suddenly and permanently cease to exist tomorrow, I'd be sad. It's a great tool, a great wealth of useful information, an endless source of entertainment, and (I think, anyway) a potentially ground-shaking force for cultural awareness, change, and importance.

However, life existed for me before the Internet. It would go on without. For the most part, the only time I really spend online is when I literally have almost nothing else to do. When I have other things going on, my computers don't even get powered up, at home.

Even so, without the web, I'd still find something else to occupy myself. I'm not one of those people that ever TRULY gets "bored". Things get slow, I find something to do. The internet, to me, is a really great way to kill time and have fun. And learn.

I will say that one void that it fills for me is the need I have for rational discourse and debate. I don't get that in real life much because I don't have very many RL acquaintances with whom I can discuss weighty topics like politics, economics, the law, religion, and other things. My job doesn't exactly lead to any satisfaction of this need in me either, being a programmer, so I will say that my need for intellectual challenge and discussion is more easily filled online than elsewhere.

I can live without it, however. If I had no internet, I could always find another way to get my argumentative nature a challenge or two without picking fights with anyone.

Like anything though, don't let it rule you, or your life. The Internet is important, entertaining, fun, educational, and trivial, all at the same time. But don't allow yourself to be blinded by its shimmering, dancing glimmers of light. Do what you think, what you know in your heart, is best for YOU.

Anonymous · « **Reply #10 on:** June 23, 2003, 09:33:58 AM »

I say we have an entire topic, or even an entire forum, dedicated to research and other things like that. This way we can actually learn from these forums, while entertaining ourselves.

Demosthenes · « **Reply #11 on:** June 23, 2003, 10:02:04 AM »

Quote from: Chris

I say we have an entire topic, or even an entire forum, dedicated to research and other things like that. This way we can actually learn from these forums, while entertaining ourselves.

OMFGLOL!11 stfu n00b!!1

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Author Topic: Internet addiction (Read 4983 times)

Anonymous

Internet addiction

udunnome

Internet addiction

Hazard

Internet addiction

Anonymous

Internet addiction

Dark Shade

Internet addiction

Anonymous

Internet addiction

pseudonymph

Internet addiction

Anonymous

Internet addiction

pseudonymph

Internet addiction

Demosthenes

Internet addiction

Anonymous

Internet addiction

Demosthenes

Internet addiction