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Internet Addiction
By Rosie Perera | May 8, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I couldn’t help chuckling at the irony of this, the left sidebar on the home page of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery (snippet shown at left here).
So you’ve got an Internet addiction? No worries! Spend time on our website, reading our blog, shopping online in our bookstore, chatting in our addiction support group. Join our mailing list, and email this page to a friend, so you won’t be all alone in your addiction!
While this is amusing, Internet addiction (a.k.a. addictive technology disorder, technology obsessive compulsive disorder, etc.) is serious business, and very hard to overcome. There is some debate whether it is really a diagnosable condition, or whether it is just another way (like too much TV) that people have of avoiding relationships or numbing pain. But then again, alcohol and drug addictions often serve that purpose too.
Unlike with substance abuse or gambling/pornography addictions, complete abstinence from computer or Internet use is not realistic in this day and age. Most people who struggle with this problem need to use computers for their work or school. And while it is still possible to pay bills, buy plane tickets, and get driving directions the old fashioned way, Internet access is becoming increasingly essential for all but the homeless.
So Internet addiction, if it can really be called an “addiction,” is more akin to eating disorders, where you need to learn how to manage the amount you consume, what you consume, in what contexts, and learn to be healthy about it.
Here are a few suggestions to help control Internet addiction:
- set a daily time limit, and take regular breaks (software such as RSI Guard or Break Reminder Pro can help)
- avoid time wasting websites (you know the ones you’re always drawn to); you can use blocking software and have an accountability partner keep the password from you if you don’t have enough self-discipline; one method I have successfully used is to add the sites I want to block to my hosts file (on Windows, c:/windows/system32/drivers/etc/hosts); just open it in any text editor and add
127.0.0.1 www.distractingsite.com
at the end of the file for each of the sites you want to block, as shown in the example (you can temporarily re-enable one by prefixing it with # if you absolutely must):
I’ve also seen a recommendation for PageAddict, a Firefox extension which blocks access to certain sites after you’ve spent so many minutes on them per day (configurable). If you want to get really drastic, you can deactivate or close your account on a social networking site that is too addictive for you.
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