The Addiction Help .com

It's the new year and resolution time again, and more specifically, it's break-your-resolution time again as well. And I already have.

I know this is a difficult question, and everyone's different blah blah blah. And I see the irony in asking how to beat internet addiction in an online forum. I just wanted any tips from people who have learnt to control the amount of time they spend on the net.

A little background and context. I'm naturally a tech geek. I'm also addicted to information and read many blogs regularly, constantly surf wikipedia, BBC news. I have god knows how many RSS feeds in my feed reader. And of course I waste even more time on Y!Answers and Y!360.

However, I can't just switch off my computer, or remove my broadband connection. I'm a PhD student and I need the connection and access to actually do my work (and I do have to do a lot of work at home).

Ideas?

Since you love the Net so much, I'm guessing you have multiple tabs open at once. Try to keep the number under 3 tabs. When you have work to do, don't do anything other than that until you have accomplished a substantial amount - no E-mail or Y! until you do some work. And if you find yourself migrating to Y! or BBC just take a deep breath and close your window.

2007-01-06 10:48:17 by the last ninja

The American University in Cairo Department of Mass Communication Students of dr.Rasha Abdulla Online Communication Class 2009 Song by: Sameh ...

So what steps can I take to revolve my life less around the internet, and still use it without staying on for hours. Please take into consideration that I'm a student and need to use the internet everyday.

Find a hobby. Music, reading, sports. Prioritize your life. Put family, yourself in front of using the internet.

2006-02-26 16:48:04 by bansri47

is addiction bad or good for health ,education and family life?if it is not good then why are people addicted?

I was addicted to internet gaming at one time.
There is only one solution. Delete all games. Delete all bookmarks, all characters, all worlds. Clear the recycle bin if they are in there. Go cold turkey. Destroy your online identity to the point that it cannot be recovered. That's the only way to kick it.
Why do people do it if it's bad for them? Because it's fun, and it offers an escape from reality. If life is not meeting your expectations, it's nice to go into another world where you can achieve things and have adventures and be someone special.

2007-04-23 14:28:10 by smira

Price: $9.95 $9.95

I have reasons to believe that my siblings are addicted to the internet. They play Runescape an Adventure Quest , often for as long as 5 hours a day. I am online for 15 minutes a day.
I believe that lack of my parent's supervision is partly to blame. Mom is a full time student and has a full time job. Dad works full time and prefers to spend his free time outside. So they come in from school at about 2 P.M. They can do whatever they want until 6 P.M. when I come home. I nag them to do their homework, and feed the pet rat! (She hasn't eaten since 6:30 A.M.,before I left for school. My little brother is supposed to feed her when he comes home). My older sister arrives at about 6:30 (we both commute to a prestigous middle and high school, while the little ones attend a nearby elemantary school). Mom doesn't come in until 8 P.M., too tired to do anything. I don't know when dad comes in since i am asleep by then.
Please remember, I am not the parent, I can't just disconnect the internet.
Do it my way: I can not do that. First of all we do not have dessert, and let me repeat, I am not the parent. I can not take away priviliges.
Zach L94: I do worry. Runescape is 13 and above for a reason. While I have never played the game myself, I saw my little brother playing it. It is violent. It enables communication with other players (not moderated). By the way, I sincerely doubt they would be using drugs at 7 years of age. Come on.

You are obviously a very responsible young adult and you are right, you're NOT the parent and this shouldn't be your job to police your siblings on the internet. Find the quietest time alone with your parents that you can and approach them with this situation. If it helps you, look up some statistics or information about the games you see your siblings playing....what are the ratings on these and how does violence that children see affect them? There is bound to be a lot of research out there on this subject.
The more adult you are when you approach your parents the more they will listen to you. If you seriously do not have the time to talk to them because of their schedules, write all of this out in a letter to them and let them read and think about it. Hope that helps.

2007-01-06 13:31:18 by Puchiko

I really do think that I am addicted to the internet... the time tracker on my computer says that in the last month (exactly) I have spent 232 hours online; yesterday it was about nine hours.

I am a college student, and my university is a fully wired laptop university... they give each of us a computer and we have wifi pretty much everywhere on campus. I use my computer to take notes (I do not browse in class), keep in touch with my few friends, and do my schoolwork. Mostly, though, I use it as an escape.

What can I do to beat my addiction? I can't go cold turkey because I still need the internet for school... and I have tried to cut down over the last several years but even when I was in high school it still amounted to three, four, even five hours of browsing a day.

It's not IM conversations or emails, just stupid waste of time things to distract me from all the too-loud sounds of reality and the too-busy environment of a college dorm.

I need to beat it, or it will beat my GPA!

You're lucky it's spring! It's getting nicer out every day. I have a similar problem every winter, where I'll either watch TV or sit at the computer. Get outside! Only bring paper and books, because if you bring your laptop you'll just surf out there. Select a class with fewer notes and actually write them down. If you must, simply tell yourself you'll finish your work before going to play. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to study from paper than from a laptop screen. Not sure if it'll work for you, but I ran into this simple software that may help you limit your daily use. http://www.liu-diy.com/ Good luck!

2008-04-14 04:34:45 by Rat