Internet and computer addiction: Thoughs/advice, anyone?

[Broken Viking]

Hail All!
For quite some time, I've been living under the knowlege that I have a rather pronounced addiction to both the Internet, and computing in general. Although I don't normally find much time for MSN, World of Warcraft, instant messaging, and other such things as a rule...I do find that I'm far too inclined to "sit" on forums for long periods of time waiting for new posts to appear that I can respond to - Especially in the case of threads and topics that I've started or played a major part in. hock:

Now...Over the past few weeks this addiction has shown itself with increasing vigour. A lot of you will have probabally noticed that I tend to be online and logged in for long periods of time at the most obscure hours, and that I tend to reply to fresh posts within a few minutes of them appearing - Especially in the case of game and similar threads. Indeed...Over the past two weeks at least, the only times that I have left the house has been to go down the local supermarket to buy food etc. Now I'm managing to get some exercise whilst doing this as I like to go on foot where possible. But recently, that decision has been more enforced by the fact that I'd rather not use a bus for reasons that I shall come to (Or rather, imply) shortly... hock:

Sadly, my daily routine nowadays seems to have settled down to waking up somewhere between 15:00 and 22:00, turning on the computer and making a coffee, and then starting a 4-10 hour marathon of surfing through Internet forums, reading up on really obscure subjects (Often huge batches of pages on Wikipedia) and occasionally checking e-mail. Even if I only intend to be online for "10 minutes" whilst quickly glancing at new posts on a forum etc, that "10 minutes" all too easily becomes 20 minutes, then an hour, then ten hours. Today, I got up at 20:00 and meant to be on for about half an hour before finding something non-computer related to do...Yet it's now 23:55 hours, and I'm still on the forums, as is all too often my wont... :roll:

Of course, this is also causing an immense number of problems elsewhere in my life as well...Most notably that I'm so inclined to spend all of my time on the Internet, that I've been neglecting many routine tasks that one would normally perform to keep both themselves and their home in good order. Disgusted though I am to confess it, my attention to personal care over recent times has been so below par that I've been avoiding certain close-quarter situations (Such as using public transport) like the plague in consideration of other people's comfort! hock:

Now, I've been giving some recent thought to this problem and some possible solutions. Some of you may remember a six month period around this time last year when I terminated my home broadband contract for exactly the same reasons, in the hope that only being able to access the Internet from my local library would alleviate the problem. Unfortunateley this didn't work out as I'd hoped. Although I'd removed the connection to the Internet, meaning that I could not access forums and suchlike from home, I'd also developed a system of downloading posts from forums onto a USB key for offline reading and reply - Much in the same way as e-mail works over a dial-up connection - So I was spending a lot of time at home reading and replying to these posts. The same applied to my e-mail usage, which was handled in exactly the same manner.

The end result of this was that - Even though I had no home broadband at the time - I was still spending the same amount of time in front of the computer each day reading and replying to forum posts and e-mail, developing websites and web-applications, and creating programs in Visual Basic script and other such things...And after a while - As I was missing World of Warcraft to an unbearable degree - I had my broadband reconnected around February of this year to allow me to resume playing World of Warcraft, and thus my old use of forums and similar sites resumed it's previous course. :roll:

So...After seeing the same train of thoughts pass through my mind a year later, and knowing that - Even without an Internet connection available - My computer usage is far more than reasonable, and that my lack of attention to more important things really needs to be addressed...I'm currently entertaining the idea that I should not just get rid of my Internet connection again, but also dispose of all of my computer equipment to ensure that I spend my time at home a lot more wisely. hock:8)

This would have some notable benefits in that if ever I needed to use a computer, then I would have to go down to my local library and be restricted to a maximum of two hours use per day (Meaning that I'd have to organise my workload most efficiently), which would also require my being awake and active at far more reasonable hours, and would lead to some health benefits in that I'd be more inclined to walk to the library insted of taking the bus. The main aim of course being that there would be so little for me to do at home without a computer available (Choice of: Make Chainmail, make Plate-mail, other handcrafts, read, or listen to music), that I would be strongly inclined to perform regular household and personal tasks out of sheer boredom if nothing else. hock:

What I would appreciate though are other people's views on this whole issue of my Internet/computer addiction, my plan for dealing with it by getting rid of all of my computer equipment, and whether or not there are any other issues that I really should consider with regards to this solution. I will stress that this won't completely cut me off from the Internet at all as I would still have access from my local library, but my participation on the board would - Understandably - Drop down to a far lower level than it is at the moment.

Farewell for now, apologies for the long post, and many thanks for any comments or suggestions! 8)
>> Death <<

 

[Coxster]

Let's go down the Snow Goose and get you bladdered. I'll leave on the pavement on Fernhill where you will wake up in the early hours. By the time you've remembered who and where you are, it will be well into the morning. By the time you've got yourself back up to Pinewood it could be well past lunchtime and you'll just want to go to sleep for a few hours. That will keep you off the computer for the best part of a day

Seriously though - if it's something you are concerned about then the two hour restriction per day can only be a good thing. If it means you post less here then so what. If it makes you feel better as a person and in your health etc., then surely that makes it worth it?

I used to be on the computer at all hours of the day and night back in the days of school, but since starting to work full-time (40 hours/week) last year, I'm online and posting only a fraction of the amount. Highly recommend it if possible!

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail Coxster!

Seriously though - if it's something you are concerned about then the two hour restriction per day can only be a good thing. If it means you post less here then so what. If it makes you feel better as a person and in your health etc., then surely that makes it worth it?

Cheers for that mate! The tricky thing for me is that for some reason, I do almost all of my socialising online nowadays...And as I've stated above, it's not actually doing me any good.
Indeed, it occurs to me now that we've known each other through this forum for almost two years or so, and we've ascertained that we only live about five minutes walk apart...Yet aside from one or two passing encounters on the roads around Farnborough, we've never actually met each other face-to-face! hock:

I'll be perfectly honest and say that the Internet is a very useful resource for almost all manner of things, and that - Used sensibly - It can be a very beneficial thing. However...For those few of us who aren't able to control our Internet usage, it's actually quite destructive. I'd liken my current situation to that of a compulsive alcoholic living in an off-licence or brewery, to give a general idea... hock:

I used to be on the computer at all hours of the day and night back in the days of school, but since starting to work full-time (40 hours/week) last year, I'm online and posting only a fraction of the amount. Highly recommend it if possible!

I've noticed that recently you are online less and post a little less than you used to, and your post-count is a testament to the fact that you obviously spent a lot of time on here in the past! hock:

I've long thought that having a job might solve the problem, but the issue tends to be confounded a lot by the addiction and it's side effects. I volunteer over at the Lions Community Store in Church Crookham every so often, but in recent times I've been staying up so late during the previous evenings that I've been getting into bed around about the time that I should actually be departing for the 'Store...And I have the feeling that if I had a standard job now, I'd either be getting too little sleep from long nights online, or I'd be calling in sick a lot or otherwise missing shifts so that I could surf... hock:

Farewell for now, and cheers for the advice! 8)
>> Death <<

 

[RJ]

I used to be addicted to using the net on my phone, merely because I liked keeping on top of and photting all the latest workings etc. But I got bored of that and I've found better ways to spend my time since I turned 16 and started 6th form.

 

[Mintona]

I do the same. I get up, go to work, come home, and surf the internet for hours on end. I know that I have laundry/cleaning to do, but I always just put it off "til tomorrow" until it's in such a state that I actually have nothing left to wear. I know I shouldn't do it, but I like nothing more than to lie in bed and play on my laptop (like I am currently doing). I don't think getting rid of the internet would help me though. I would just watch TV instead. Anything to put off doing the chores which I know I need to do (and know I should be doing right now). At the moment, I need to:
Put away ironed laundry,
Iron some more,
Put some more on the airer,
Put some more in the washing machine,
Dust over the whole flat,
Hoover everywhere,
Clean the bathroom,
Clear away some crisp packets and chip wrappers that I couldn't be bothered to do when I ate them.

My problem is I come home from work so exhausted I don't feel like doing anything except sleeping. Or lieing in bed and playing with my computer. So nothing ever gets done.

EDIT: That spurred me into life. Done most of it now

 

[Spaceflower]

a) Destroy the computer.
b) get a girlfreind
c) get a job
d) get a dog (preferably one with big brown eyes and which whinges alot)

Easiest one of those to do, bearing in mind you are already too deeply addicted, is probably a).
Wait till it gets to 4-5am in the morning again after a night of surfing, then put Nirvana - 'Smells like Teen Spirit' on full blast.....
Aim at computer.

You can dispose of the body in your local river............

 

[Gizmogle]

I don't agree that you should rid of your computer equipment, nor terminate your broadband connection.

The best thing in my opinion, is to be able to use computers and control your addiction. Then you know that you've beaten it. Don't let it stop you doing something that you enjoy!

But obviously, getting to that stage is hard. I'm also on the internet alot. But I don't really care. It's not at that bad a stage with me.

Try setting yourself a [sensible] time limit. Set a timer from the moment that you boot up the computer and shut the computer down the moment that the timer goes off. No "Oh, I'll just check my emails, it'll only take another minute".

If you work on computers, then keep leisure and work seperate.

Find something else to occupy your time. Drawing, listening to music, going out, (even just on a late night walk). If you find yourself sitting around doing nothing and wanting to boot up the computer, then try the 5 minute game. Just sit there, and tell yourself that in 5 minutes, you can go on. Then when 5 minutes is over, start another 5 minutes, etc.

Hope this helps Tis just random stuff that I've done before.


EDIT: I was gonna mention an online support group...but then I realised...

 

[Spaceflower]

lol, great stuff.

 

[djw1981]

I would add to the 'you;re only online all teh time because you are bored' type camp. At the weekend I can happily play on here for ages making posts, but come monday when back at Uni, I'm busy and really don;t miss it (or even miss much).

Without knowing your circumstances, it would impolite to suggest other options, but a meaningful, and dependent position (i.e. you must be there else others will feel your lack of presence) would seem to be a good way forward. If education / employment are not viable, maybe a voluntary role helping others or something within your own limitation / talents / abilities could be a good start.

Removing your perceived source may just transfer the problem to another area of your life. It depends whether the problem is an OCD / addictive personality affect type, or just a boredom thing?

 

[me123]

I would add to the 'you;re only online all teh time because you are bored' type camp. At the weekend I can happily play on here for ages making posts, but come monday when back at Uni, I'm busy and really don;t miss it (or even miss much).

Now, I have a similar problem in that I manage to end up researching for about 10 minutes, then end up here, and an hour later have got no-where with my studying To be honest, having worked in a rather quiet call centre, you do spend a lot of time surfing the web and coming back to work is an adjustment, but I am getting my study skills back again.

I have a suggestion for you, Death. Buy one of those plugs that you can set to only turn on for a certain amount of time (say 6pm-8pm) which will kill the power at 8pm every evening, thus limiting access? Won't work, of course, if you use the internet for work/study, or for a laptop, but this is only a suggestion!

Otherwise, taking up a new hobby might be worthwhile. Not saying that you need to get out more or anything, but getting engrossed in something new could help get you off your computer

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail all!
Many thanks for all of thy responses thus far, they're most helpful and very much appreciated! 8)
I'm trying to gradually wean myself off of the forums at the moment in preperation for the previously mentioned plan, so I'm trying to spend as little time as possible, but I will try and respond to some of the above replies all the same...

a) Destroy the computer.
b) get a girlfreind
c) get a job
d) get a dog (preferably one with big brown eyes and which whinges alot)

Point "A" is more or less the plan that I'm currently pursuing, although slightly different to what ye suggested.

Firstly, I have a "heap" of about 18 computers knocking around here which I have kept stored up in the back room for future computing requirements, such as if I ever felt like setting up a Folding Farm or similar bulk-processing or mainframe rig. When one adds the "stack" of systems that I use regularly, the number comes to 25!
For this plan to work properly, I'm going to have to remove all of the computer equipment - Even the clapped out 80486SX box that I once used as a RAS server - From my home environment and ensure that the most computer-like equipment that I have around here is my mobile 'phone.

At the moment, I'm currently working my way through all of the systems in the "heap" and building them into individually functioning, workable boxes that can have Ubuntu installed on them and then be sold or given away. Once I've done that, I'll do the same with the "stack" systems until I'm left with just Aragorn and Gandalf - My main system, and my network storage machine respectively.
Once I'm down to those last two, I'll be compiling an archive of needed files to USB key for use at the library, burning my MP3 collection to CD-ROM for use on my stereo, passing the word around the 'net about going offline, giving Aragorn a full internal valet and refurbishment, then packing it in the original box and storing it at my parents house should it ever be needed in the future. If I decided that I could live without Aragorn though, then it'll be a simple case for me to roll it back to it's original factory state (Complete with Vista HB :roll and sell it as nearly new second hand on eBay. 8)

As for plans B, C and D though there are a few additional problems:
D is impossible as my landlord prohibits pets in these flats. That, and - Not being keen at all on "toy" breeds - I have nowhere near enough space to humanely accommodate an Alsation or Husky... :cry:
C is something that I do intend to do as soon as possible, but I feel that I'll only be able to do that successfully once I've managed - Like 390033 last year - To get myself un-derailed and back on the WCML heading towards Glasgow Central at speeds that would make light itself look pitifully slow...
As for B, I do have the fear that that'll be a virtual impossibility for me, as I am one hell of an ugly bar-steward! Indeed...The only time a woman will ever talk to me in the first place is if she's asking me for directions, or if the train that we're on calls at %Whatever_station%... hock::razz:

Easiest one of those to do, bearing in mind you are already too deeply addicted, is probably a). Wait till it gets to 4-5am in the morning again after a night of surfing, then put Nirvana - 'Smells like Teen Spirit' on full blast..... Aim at computer.
You can dispose of the body in your local river............

Hmm...It's a good idea I suppose, and one that I might consider doing if it wern't for the fact that Aragorn is a good £350,- worth of computer...I'd rather not trash my whole investment in that way when - Considering that I've kept it well, and it still looks as good as new - I reckon that it could easily fetch £200+ on eBay, aside from the fact that I couldn't just go dumping a PC in a canal or river! hock:8)

I don't agree that you should rid of your computer equipment, nor terminate your broadband connection.
The best thing in my opinion, is to be able to use computers and control your addiction. Then you know that you've beaten it. Don't let it stop you doing something that you enjoy!
But obviously, getting to that stage is hard. I'm also on the internet alot. But I don't really care. It's not at that bad a stage with me.

The trouble with me is that I have become more addicted than the typical "internet addict" who spends a lot of time online each day, but at the same time still manages his time well enough to accommodate work, socialising and some household tasks. I - On the other hand - Generally find myself "lashed" to the computer for a good 80% of the day, and indeed over the last 48 hours I've been either surfing the 'net and posting on forums, or have been working through the "heap" of computers to get them ready for onward transit and disposal...I havn't been outside for anything other than cigarette breaks, and my sleeping pattern is now more stuffed than a single member of the Ku Klux Klan finding himself in the middle of a Black Panthers gathering... hock:ad:

Try setting yourself a [sensible] time limit. Set a timer from the moment that you boot up the computer and shut the computer down the moment that the timer goes off. No "Oh, I'll just check my emails, it'll only take another minute".

I have a suggestion for you, Death. Buy one of those plugs that you can set to only turn on for a certain amount of time (say 6pm-8pm) which will kill the power at 8pm every evening, thus limiting access? Won't work, of course, if you use the internet for work/study, or for a laptop, but this is only a suggestion!

The biggest problem with these approaches is that - Like giving up smoking (Another thing that I intend to do sometime, but I'd best get rid of the most harmful addiction first. ) - This requires willpower to succeed, and in the case of prying myself away from the computer, I have virtually none whatsoever. I already run a timer script of my own creation on some of my systems (Which throws reminder prompts every ten minutes after 5-6 hours system operation) and I can get a general idea of machine uptime by looking at the CPU time registered to the system idle process in Windows task manager. However, I still find that - Even when I know how long I've been online or at the PC - I don't feel like stopping until either everything has been done to my satisfaction, or I'm literally falling askeep at the keyboard! hock: :?

Also, I've been looking at my life and history a lot over the past few weeks, as I've been extrememly concerned about how and why - When once I was an extremely strong willed bloke who had an extreme undying fervour in relation to his beliefs and goals - I have now weakened to such a great degree, and am a true shadow of my former self...And the one consistancy in my life over this time is that the faster and more powerful my computer equipment has become over the years, the lazier, more bone-idle and more internet addicted I have become...Hence my intention to dispose of my computer equipment (Or at least remove it from my home environment) and try to "roll-back" my life to how it was back around 2001CE or so... hock:8)

As for power-plug timers: Using them on a PC is a very bad idea, as anyone whose ever experienced an HDD crash as the result of a power-cut will no-doubt tell you. I could feed in a UPS I suppose, but that approach would be overkill for a multiple PC setup - Aside from the fact that I only have one UPS unit anyway! hock:

The other fundamental flaw with time switches anyway is that if I have to set the on/off times in the first place, I can also change the time to meet my addiction's desires or make use of the override switch often provided! :roll::razz:

Find something else to occupy your time. Drawing, listening to music, going out, (even just on a late night walk). If you find yourself sitting around doing nothing and wanting to boot up the computer, then try the 5 minute game. Just sit there, and tell yourself that in 5 minutes, you can go on. Then when 5 minutes is over, start another 5 minutes, etc. Hope this helps Tis just random stuff that I've done before.

Otherwise, taking up a new hobby might be worthwhile. Not saying that you need to get out more or anything, but getting engrossed in something new could help get you off your computer

That's more or less what the Get shot of my PCs plan is intended to do...Once I've got no computing equipment left around here, I'll be much more inclined to go for long walks in the local forests, concentrate more on my Chainmail and Plate-mail crafting, concentrate on the many Armour and Weapon-crafting projects that I've had in mind for years on end, I'll probabally go and visit friends a lot more (As opposed to just visiting their MySpace pages! :roll and - Most importantly (Forced to do so through sheer boredom if nowt else) - I'll probabally start concentrating a lot more on keeping my personal care and appearance up to suitable, routine levels like they were once upon a time... hock:

EDIT: I was gonna mention an online support group...but then I realised...

Was that an intentional pun, or were ye actually going to suggest a 'net based support group? Either way, I couldn't help but chuckle at thy statement! 8)

Farewell for now...And many thanks again!
>> Death <<

 

[Pumbaa]

Hail Death,

I seem to remember reading a while back that you may have a disability? Or something that prevents you from being active? I can't remember if it was you or someone else...

Anyway, my suggestion would be (albeit the initial difficulty in actually completing this task) if you feel that you have been on the PC for a while too long, take one of: a brisk walk, a jog for a longish time, a sprint kind of thing for a short while or cycle somewhere.

Always works for me... And I have a crap attitude to sitting down and doing constructive things... I nearly always procrastinate and end up in a stress by the end of it. But doing one of the above makes me work somehow!

 

[Spaceflower]

cigarette breaks

These are what need to go in the river. I've stopped smoking many times (currently stopped) and found smoking reduced my energy levels and led to general malaise as you describe. You can get help, but I find it easier to go cold. After initial increased tiredness and a few minor nervous breakdowns, your energy levels will increase alot!

Try jogging, cycling, walking, (even vegging?) if you can't sleep rather than pc world.

Either way you need to keep your mind occupied and you Will feel healthier and thereforebetter about yourself in less than a week (whether you become an athlete or a veg).

The worst thing about stoppong smoking (tyhis always seems to get me) is not the physical withdrawal or the craviongs, but either the boredom or the social aspect (you know when you bump into a mate , its like a polite thing to spark up and offer him/her one).

anyway, try it , and i'm here going through the same sh!t too, if you need someone to talk to.

 

[me123]

Hail all!That's more or less what the Get shot of my PCs plan is intended to do...Once I've got no computing equipment left around here, I'll be much more inclined to go for long walks in the local forests, concentrate more on my Chainmail and Plate-mail crafting, concentrate on the many Armour and Weapon-crafting projects that I've had in mind for years on end, I'll probabally go and visit friends a lot more (As opposed to just visiting their MySpace pages! :roll and - Most importantly (Forced to do so through sheer boredom if nowt else) - I'll probabally start concentrating a lot more on keeping my personal care and appearance up to suitable, routine levels like they were once upon a time... hock:

You could join a class/club with a regular meeting time; then you would have to be off the computer at those times. Obviously that is dependent on what is on in your area, but you never know you could enjoy knitting or needlework or something similar; and the reaction of the little old ladies when you walk in would be priceless!

 

[Spaceflower]

could even start a stop smoking support thread for anyone else out there who wants to stop..........................

 

[Coxster]

How about this, Death? It's on Hawley Lane next to the driving test centre so isn't that far away from you at all really.

 

[43034 The Black Horse]

Seriously though - if it's something you are concerned about then the two hour restriction per day can only be a good thing. If it means you post less here then so what. If it makes you feel better as a person and in your health etc., then surely that makes it worth it?

Thats what I am (meant to be) on. Was onevery day after school till bed. On for 2-4hrs a day, And I kinda strugglefor things to do while im on the PC now, I look at Forums, Check Emails & Maybe check a Few fotopic sites, I then go off as Ihave nothing else to do, My folks really enforced the 2 hour rule at the begining Now they relax it A bit and now I cant really stay on for more then 2-3hrs straight without getting bored. It really works!

 

[Craig]

I would add to the 'you;re only online all teh time because you are bored' type camp. At the weekend I can happily play on here for ages making posts, but come monday when back at Uni, I'm busy and really don;t miss it (or even miss much).

I agree with this. When I'm at work I check my emails, facebook and a few forums occasionally (or a lot if it's a quiet day) and a have a couple of hours proper browsing on an evening when I'm not doing other stuff. When I'm not at work and I'm not doing anything else I can spend all day online and won't do much more than I do on a day I'm at work :roll:

I think you need to find something to get you away from the PC for a while (a job, a hobby that doesn't involve PCs or whatever) and gradually reduce the amount of time you spend online.

 

[Zamracene749]

Hmmm- lots of seriously ugly bar stewards with partners out there mate- far worse than you -in fact looking at your pic I reckon you should be beating them off with a s***ty stick(or sword if need be in a rock/ metal bar tbh.
Not sure if this applies to you but why not buy a good beer guide? Then take a day once a week to travel around on trains/buses trying the local entries? Real ale pubs tend to be occupied by the more enthusiast tolerant members of society too.
Worked for me after my big divorce, have met some great people and made good friends just from visiting random boozers. Even met a few nice lasses......

 

[Broken Viking]

Hail All!
Just a quick one to say that I havn't neglected this thread, but there's quite a few responses above that'll take me a while and a good 512Kb post to respond to...And with me trying to avoid spending too long on the 'net, I'm keeping myself to shorter posts at the moment.

On other news: The problem is still ongoing, but as of this morning I'm toying with the idea of switching over to using Ubuntu or some other flavour of Linux, insted of ditching/destroying all of my computer equipment.

When I first moved to Farnborough, I was running Redhat Linux 9 for a good six months and - Though it still allowed me to surf the 'net fine - I found that I spent virtually no programming time on it at all as VBScript isn't supported by Linux platforms. Though Linux works well for me as a multimedia and internet platform, I find some severe difficulty developing programs on the things (Which is what takes up a lot of my time) so simply making the move over to a better and more stable OS could be the answer. 8)