Internet Addiction

Addiction is a bad thing.

The dictionary would define it in two ways.

The first one says that an addiction is an abnormally strong craving. Craving in itself is an intense desire for a particular thing.

This definition gives a moderate picture of an addiction. The second one depicts a more harsher reality.

Addiction is being abnormally dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit forming. This habituation or dependency is alarming.

Why am I thinking about this??

Well, today afternoon, I was disconnected from the online world for more than three hours - courtesy a power cut. With nothing else to do, sleep not forthcoming and no one to talk to, the desire for  connecting to the internet was getting onto me.

It made me think - Have I become addicted to the Internet??

A few hours of disconnection shouldn't have ideally mattered. But then when you don't get something when you are really expecting it, the desires grow stronger and multiply into enormous proportions. Net result - an addiction.

The first thing that I did after the power was restored was to switch on the computer and get back online.

And this isn't a good sign for someone who is online and connected to the net - more than fifteen hours a day, for at least 5 days a week. And for the remaining two days, its twelve hours a day.

What is more troubling is a small fact. 

The number of websites that I most commonly surf do not exceed ten. This includes - a mail site, a couple of social networking sites, three news papers, a tabloid and a blog. These days, it's on a very rare occasion, that I go beyond these trusted companions.

It made me think - Is the addiction really worth it's part??

But addictions have an habit of demonstrating themselves - so that you can introspect and take the required corrective action.

And what's the signal??

A silly me, sitting up in a dark room just moments before sleeping,  at half past twelve in the night, writing a blog post entry about Internet Addiction. 

Was this really warranted?? 

The fact that I can't stop writing until I post the blog entry is the crowning moment of the addiction.

I'm hoping to take some steps to reduce this mad desire for internet in the coming days. And I pray to God Almighty to help me succeed in my endeavour.

And this might become my wallpaper in the coming days. :-)