The Other Addiction

It is an addiction like many others.  It is as socially acceptable as drinking and smoking.  How does one know when one is indulging a bit too much?  With drinking the signs are obvious: the hands shake involuntarily, one reaches for the bottle at times when most would deem it inappropriate (i.e. 8 a.m.)  With smoking the lines of excess begin to blur.  Is one pack a day too much?  One and half?  Two?

But now there is a new means in which we can indulge our senses when we are bored, anxious, euphoric, depressed or emotionally conflicted.  For those of us not inclined to have an insatiable need for sex, food or marijuana, we have a much more inconspicuous, yet blantaly obvious, alternative:

The internet.

In today's society, we don't bat an eyelash when we see a co-worker habitually cruising the internet.  It is expected that our children be computer savvy to compete on a global scale and therefore, they are on the computer at a much earlier age than ever before.  Recently, at my office, our computer technician brought his six year old daughter to work with him.  She had a small portable computer with her.  She stated matter-of-factly that it was her third computer.  She sat at the front desk and cruised the internet on the receptionists' computer until she found her favorite internet game.  Is it called an addiction when the afflicted is only six?

I have always had a habit of checking my favorite new sites online.  Sometimes, I would hit the same five websites four times an hour, almost disappointed to discover that there had been no major catastrophes since the last time I checked, ten minutes prior.  Now that I have started my own webpage, I have caught myself checking my statistics for visits up to ten times per hour!  This doesn't include the Instant Messaging and emailing in which I also use to combat boredom.

The internet is filled with information and it is wonderful that so many of us seek knowledge, and even a social life, online.  However, it is imperative that we use caution and moderation as our guide.  Nothing can replace a warm smile, a soft touch, or a lively conversation in which we can look our companion in the eye and communicate honestly.

Like any addiction, surfing the web can give us the greatest rush just before the fall, causing us to lose friends, families and possibly ourselves.

UPDATE:  THERE IS NOW A REHAB CLINIC FOR INTERNET ADDICTION. CLICK LINK TO READ ABCNEWS.COM REPORT:Internet Rehab