An article on
NewScientistTech via
Slashdot alerts us that many people these days are addicted to the Internet, and may be as clinically ill as alcoholics. Apparently Internet addicts try to hide their online activities and go online to get rid of a bad attitude (most likely trolling blogs), a habit that researchers say is dangerous and isn't healthy. First off, I thought most of us who are "addicted to the Internet" already knew we were, and I don't know if it is such a bad thing in many cases. Sure, there are times when it goes way too far, and mental help is required to fix the problem. Severe cases do exist where there is no end in sight. On the other hand, for all of us only mildly addicted, I think we are addicted because work requires it or because of our individual interests, and it can be a good thing. The lead author of the study, Elias Aboujaoude says "In a sense, they're using the Internet to self-medicate..." I don't consider this a bad thing, at least we are being medicated. It can be awfully helpful after a stressful work day to come home and surf, browse, read
Download Squad and check on the latest news. I find writing code is therapeutic as well. I personally think that the reason we want to hide our Internet habits is because it is the very last place we can control a degree of privacy. With the whirlwind that is our busy life, it is comforting to know that you can have somewhere to go to drop everything and just be who you are, even it is on the inside of your head and stored behind a password. This article was an interesting read, so if you have some time to be Internet addicted today, check it out.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tyler said 5:47PM on 10-23-2006
Nice write-up Ryan. I'm somewhat addicted, only because I have to be because of my job. Will I be able to sue my employer once internet addiction is considered a real illness?
:)
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Dice said 1:27PM on 10-24-2006
I am 100% addicted. I've been addicted since 1994 or 1995 when AOL & Prodigy was invented. I would spend nights staying up late and downloading the first of pictures on the internet. Amazing how time has changed and pictures are downloaded in seconds and not hours. I can only imagine where we are headed from here.
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D said 1:27PM on 10-24-2006
B.S. This is like saying someone is addicted to driving because their daily life requires it. It's a matter of what on the internet your addicted to. Porn? MySpace? SecondLife? RSS? I say as long as your doing something constructive when your online, it's all good.
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Steve said 7:25PM on 10-24-2006
I can safely say I have a web addiction, but I can definitely go sans web for a few days. Being a Web Master/Designer I find myself most addicted to web apps, ajax trickery, site building, website templating, a few badonkadunk models and css. There I said it, Now get off my back, Mom.
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