Most days I spend at least 2 hours online, reading the blogs I follow (and leaving comments), tweeting on Twitter, dropping in on Facebook, checking my email accounts (all 6 of them), adjusting my reading list on GoodReads, and blogging. On days where I have the available time, I might spend 4 hours online. Putting in that kind of time leads me to wondering whether I’m addicted to being online. Aren’t we Americans supposed to be addicted to something?
It’s a niggling worry and has me analyzing what I used to do before we had a high-speed internet connection in the house. Last week, I wandered past my father-in-law while he was on his computer and caught him playing Solitaire. Ah, computer Solitaire! I remember you so fondly. I easily spent a half-hour on this game before I would begin writing and another half-hour after. I no longer play Solitaire, which means I’ve shifted one time-sucking behavior to another.
I watch less television now that I’m online, not that I was much of a television watcher to begin with, but still, it’s another time shift that I can account for. Now that my children are older and very self-sufficient, I’m not having to do any nose-wiping, snack-retrieving, story-reading, bed-tucking, or hustling-out-the-door. I’m also not making so many artistic things. This is primarily due to a philosophical shift in my creativity. If I make “things,” then I’m putting more stuff into the world that uses resources and takes up physical space, which means I have to figure out how to deal with these items on an organizational level. Instead, my creativity has shifted to writing, which I do plenty online.
In continuing my analysis of this situation, I started listing the sorts of things I get done alongside my internet activity. Here is a partial list:
The laundry gets washed, dried and folded.
The dishes get done, whether by hand or in the dishwasher.
The groceries get purchased.
The children are fed.
The litter boxes get sifted.
The garbage gets taken out to the curb.
The job gets attended to.
The bills get paid.
The music gets heard.
The love gets made.
The conversations get had.
The cats get pampered.
The showers get taken; the teeth brushed; the nails clipped.
The books get read.
The events get attended.
The friends and family get visited.
The files get organized.
The house gets cleaned.
The stories get written.
And, yes, sometimes the television gets watched and things get made.
When I’m online, I’m partaking in two of my favorite activities – reading and writing. Perhaps I’m rationalizing, but being online opens me to ideas for my writing and also gives me a daily writing practice, something I once had a longing for and now have.
Adding all this up, I’m pretty sure I’m not addicted in the true sense of the term. And here’s the clincher: If I’m on the computer too long, I get sick of it and have to walk away.
How do you compare? Do you think you’re addicted to the internet?
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
December 1, 2008 at 6:24 pm
lkwinter
I can be brutally insensitive toward myself if I realize I’ve spent hours on end constructing a post for the internet that I will never be getting paid for, when I could have been progressing my efforts toward publishing.
The internet is interactive though; there’s tremenduous inner benefit to learning about other people and their way of life. So the internet isn’t bad, and the fact you’ve raised awareness tells you’re concern, so I wouldn’t consider you addicted, it’s who you are.
Addiction is generally defined as a behavior that causes other areas of life to go unmanaged, and with your extensive list of daily accomplishment, including things like getting the love made (that was cute), indicates your probably not having any trouble managing your life.
So it boils down to personal goals: are you getting the things done in life you really want? Is the internet helping or hurting?
December 2, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Reeva
I totally agree with lk – the internet is more like a hobby for you, which is the same for me. It entertains me, and I feel like I learn a lot as well.
Having said that, I feel I spend an inordinate amount of time hacking through my feeds – I probably subscribe to too many blogs. And since I’m just a teensy bit OCD, I make myself get through everything before moving on to other things. Like tonight, I spent two hours catching up on my feeds, and now I’m wiped, so I probably won’t blog. Go fig.
December 2, 2008 at 10:01 pm
woowooteacup
The internet is not only a hobby; it’s assisting me on my goal toward publishing. I see my blog as a way to build readership, which is a very nice thing for a writer to have. And I have some great readers here, which keeps me motivated and writing. (Wonderful feedback loop, this is!)
I have the same problem you do, Reeva. Too many blogs to read and not enough time and just OCD enough to want to get through the entire list before moving on to something else. (Dang! The BBC and MSNBC churn out lots of stories in a day!) Readin’ me feeds also prevents me from blogging some days.
December 3, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Amy Hunter
Sometimes I spend a bunch of time on the net, and I wish I had done something else with my time. On the whole, however, I don’t think I spend time that I wouldn’t have spent on watching tv or some other form of entertainment. It’s more that the internet has replaced some of the optional things I used to do. But I still go to work, still pay my bills, still take care of the house, and still see my face-to-face friends, so I don’t worry about it.
Being online has put me in contact with so many people I never would have met in real life. People with interesting perspectives and experiences. I think it’s worth it, but I also feel like it’s ok to take breaks when I need to.
December 3, 2008 at 9:53 pm
woowooteacup
Ditto for me, Amy, on the contact with people I never would have met in real life. Following my family’s online interactions is also fun and gives me a new perspective on what’s going on in their minds. Daughter reads my blog, so I think she’s got a different perspective on me, too.