Internet dependency

[Eenuh]

It’s late at night and my brain is working overtime again. Something that often happens during a cold lonely night when you can’t really seem to fall asleep. Maybe you can’t fall asleep ‘cause you’re thinking too much, or maybe you start thinking too much ‘cause you can’t fall asleep. Whatever the case, it’s got my brain working a bit too much right now. Sorry if this turns out a bit long and boring, but I just feel like writing it down or I’ll never get to sleep.

 

The thought processes that my mind came up this time brought me to question my dependency on the internet, the constant need to be online, to always be connected. In this day and age it’s something that seems to be expected of people, that they are always available, that they can always be reached in some kind of way. And I know I feel that way myself. The first thing I do when I wake up is turn on my laptop, the last thing I do before I go to bed is turn off my laptop. I carry it around the house all day, constantly being online just in case someone somewhere would want to reach me. Even if I know there’s only a very tiny amount of people who would.

 

Always connected.

 

It makes me wonder why I do this. It’s not like I’m really missing out on much during the day. Most people go to work so they’re not online to post, forums are generally dead and other sites don’t seem to offer much either. Yet there’s still that need to constantly refresh the same pages, hoping something interesting shows up. But it never does.

 

Then why is there still that urge to keep doing it? Boredom probably has something to do with it, but then I still feel bored while I’m doing it since there’s not exactly much happening anyway. It’s a strange thing. You’re constantly looking at the same conversation window, wondering when the other person will say something (but since life can be boring there isn’t always much to say). Or you just keep going back to the same sites and your email, just in case something interesting would’ve appeared in that one minute you didn’t check it.

 

 

Am I the only one who experiences this? I know because I don’t have a job and am home all day that I get bored quite easily, but this boredom isn’t fixed at all by being online all day. In fact, it makes me even more bored because nothing is happening and I’m not really doing anything that could help fix the boredom. Being online all day makes me do nothing productive at all and it seems to sap all motivation away from me too. My thought process sometimes goes: “I should do something right now, something productive… But if I do, then I can’t really be online and see what happens there. So I’ll just stay on here for now and I’ll do something else later.†Of course that later never happens.

 

So now I’m wondering, wouldn’t I be better off without the internet? It doesn’t really offer me that much, so why do I keep hanging onto it so much every day, while I could be doing lots of other things (if I can think of stuff to do that is). When I was in Spain without internet, I didn’t really miss it at all. It felt quite liberating to not have to carry around that laptop all the time.

 

I’m thinking I’ll do the same now. I’m going to not use my laptop for a week, apart from a few minutes per day to check my emails (since I'm expecting stuff), but nothing else. No internet, no msn, no facebook, nothing. I want to see if I can go without when it’s so readily available. I also want to see if I will end up doing productive things, something that will hopefully make me feel like I’m not wasting my day away.

 

 

To give this topic a bit more discussion value (which I guess I won’t see until a week from now, if I manage to do this), I’ll ask these questions:

 

Do you feel the constant need to be available to people or to be online as much as possible? And why?

 

Have you taken intentional “breaks†from the internet before? And how did it make you feel? Better? Worse?

 

Are you an internet addict?

 

Go!

[Goafer]

I do feel like I have to "check one more thing" before going to bed. But I think that's more to do with knowing that when I go to sleep, the next thing I'll experience is waking up for work and I hate that.

 

If I go on holiday somewhere where I can't access the internet, I'm generally ok. Same applies if my internet stops working. I think I go through phases.

 

Although fuck knows what I'll be like now that I've got proper internet/FaceBook/Amazon/etc on my phone. I check various things on my break at work, but in a proper social situation (i.e. with people I don't spend all day, every day with) I don't check my phone/the internet unless there's something specific I'm waiting for/looking for.

[EddieColeslaw]

This is something I feel very strongly about, as I can't get away from the computer/Internet if I wanted to, as I'm studying and have secured a job in Computer Science. So I will probably write more about this tomorrow, for now I will post this link of relevance:

 

http://www.positivelypresent.com/2011/11/staying-positive-in-the-21st-century.html

[The Peeps]

My default position now is at my computer. If I have no plans and I'm stuck at home, I'll be online finding things to do. Tonight there has been nothing for me to do. There are webcomics I check, people I subscribe to on youtube, games I play (mafia, expert 11, etc), facebook and twitter. There are websites I will visit every day (such as this one) and hope for updates.

 

Tonight is a slow night. My internet checks are all done and there's no one in my msn list. I usually have one friend on msn who shares my sleeping pattern and uneventful life and we'll play games or chat and pass the time but he's not been on tonight :p

 

For me it's not about being addicted to the internet. It's just another form of social interaction for me. If there's something going on in the real world, I'd be doing that. I'd never pass up going out with friends purely to sit on the internet. Before the internet people were at home watching TV. We can't be active every day.

 

I don't have too much time for myself when it's a workday so the internet is the perfect thing to stop me from going insane with boredom. On my days off I will use it to watch tv or films, find new music, play games, etc. I could probably go without it but I have nothing to replace it with. I'm not putting anything off to be on the internet instead... so I guess it's perfect for me

 

Day off tomorrow and I'll probably go to the cinema with a friend, or we'll just hang out here. Then I'm off to see The Drums in Shephards Bush... then it's back to 5/6 days of 'wake up - internet - workworkworkwork - internet - sleep'

Edited December 8, 2011 by The Peeps

[Coolness Bears]

I am hooked into machine.

[Iun]

There's something amusing in talking about internet addiction -on an internet forum.

 

I rarely worry people need to contact me: often they do, but they contact me on *my* terms, not theirs. I say the same to the parents at the school: you want to speak to the teacher, call them during office hours and if they have time, they will speak to you. If they don't have time, they will get back to you when they are free.

 

Another reason I mostly switch off my mobile - "Oh, but what if someone calls?"

 

Oh, but what if I don't care?

Edited December 8, 2011 by Iun

[Ashley]

Another reason I mostly switch off my mobile - "Oh, but what if someone calls?"

 

Oh, but what if I don't care?

 

Yeah I switch mine off at night for the same reason. Only switch it back on in the morning when I feel I'm ready to have a conversation (not that someone instantly rings me obviously).

[EEVILMURRAY]

I do feel like I have to "check one more thing" before going to bed.

If I go on holiday somewhere where I can't access the internet, I'm generally ok. Same applies if my internet stops working. I think I go through phases.

Same here, when I was in Turkey I may have checked the internet two or three times. This could be because all I had was my phone and it's not really designed for heavy browsing.

 

Tonight is a slow night. My internet checks are all done and there's no one in my msn list. I usually have one friend on msn who shares my sleeping pattern and uneventful life and we'll play games or chat and pass the time but he's not been on tonight :p

Play meeeee!!!

[MoogleViper]

I have no idea how I'd do my university essays without the internet.

 

I also use it for my TV, so without it I'd have to spend money on a TV (tuner) and license.

[Serebii]

As my hobby requires me to have constant internet access, I have to have everything on. If news comes in my sleep, my friends in Japan/America iMessage me until I wake so that I can update. I had to get an awesome smartphone in case news comes while I'm out

 

I spend most of the day on the internet in the background while I work. I always have Facebook open. I have to make sure that I am checking all the various news sources constantly.

 

I wouldn't say I'm an addict

[Goafer]

I also use it for my TV, so without it I'd have to spend money on a TV (tuner) and license.

 

Out of curiousity, I just checked if you need a TV Licence to watch interwebs TV. Turns out you don't as long as you're not watching it "live".

 

From TV Licencing:

 

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

 

You do not need a TV Licence if you only use your TV to watch videos and DVDs or as a monitor for your games console.

 

So by that reasoning, things like 4OD and iPlayer are free. There's literally no point me getting a licence when I move out.

[Shorty]

Yep you can declare it through the website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/no-licence-needed/

 

I did the same thing the whole time I was at Uni and a couple of years after that until we got Virgin Media. Like you say as long as you don't watch Live TV, you're saving £150 a year.

[Goafer]

Yep you can declare it through the website: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/no-licence-needed/

 

I did the same thing the whole time I was at Uni and a couple of years after that until we got Virgin Media. Like you say as long as you don't watch Live TV, you're saving £150 a year.

 

I barely watch any TV. I have it on in the background for noise, but I very rarely watch it actively. The only program I watch regularly is Misfits, which is usually on 4OD within an hour of it being broadcast anyway.

[Emma]

Totally addicted. I'll be sitting here all night instead of doing other more useful things. I could draw or get out my sewing machine.. or bake a cake? But no.. I'll just sit here on the internet.

 

It annoys me because I know I'm wasting my time. When Dan's here I'm not that fussed. It's just when I'm by myself after work, I guess it's like being a couch potato and watching the tv all night.

[Jonnas]

I do feel I tend to abuse the Internet at times. I use it when I want to relax, use it when I'm bored, and even use it to find music for studying (as if the music I have in my PC isn't enough)

 

The constant presence of friends doesn't help things, true, but then again, friends are one of the best reasons to be online in the first place.

 

Occasionally, I just say "Fuck it!" and go away from the internet for the rest of the day, but it tends to last just that, a day. Even when I travel in holidays, and accept to not use it for a week, other people travelling with me will eventually try to find anything where they can access the web, and there I go again, my will broken along with theirs.

 

Usually, being away from the internet for a couple of days can be relaxing enough, but if you feel it's turning into a larger problem, I'd say vowing to avoid the Internet (or even the entire PC) for a week could be a good measure to help assess the situation you're in.

 

Not a light task, I'm aware, you could potentially need the internet to fulfill certain obligations, but there could be groundrules for the experiment (only using work-related sites, making sure you didn't leave friends or favours pending before starting, etc.)

[Happenstance]

I check the net way too often. Even when im doing something else like playing a game i'll just lean over and press F5 to see if anyone has posted anything new.

 

Saying that though, thats only when im at home. I rarely check the internet on my phone while im out and if im away from home for any length of time I dont feel any need to check up on stuff.

[Coolness Bears]

Sometimes I do I feel like I'm wasting time on it but I think there is a difference between passive internetting and active internetting.

 

Passive = Refreshing facebook and what has already been stated etc.

 

Active = Learning new things about life etc.

 

For instance the other day I was looking at old USA newspapers from the 1900s which were mesmerising, along side photographs taken from that time on some historical archives website, plus learning the different states of America and the inner workings of a Kangaroo. You may feel that this is a waste of time? I would call that active as you are just gaining knowledge which I never think is a bad thing.

 

Plus the other day I was researching literature to see where my book would fit in the market and start looking for publishers.

 

Today however I sat and watched 5 episodes of the first series of the apprentice, passive.

[The Bard]

As an aside, you can't sleep at night, and indeed your insomnia causes an intensity of thinking that doesn't occur through the day because your dopaminergic system is working on overload in an attempt to provide a contingency for your lack of sleep and ironically, keeping you awake. It's one of the reasons why full sleep deprivation has occasionally been used as a treatment for depression.

 

Anyway. I used to have what you describe with N-Europe, but then I realised that nobody really wants to hear what I have to say . But I am on Facebook and Twitter and News sites and Neuroscience blogs and jacked into anything that can keep me in a state of constant information overload. We can't help it, information is a natural stimulant.

 

Also, hitting refresh on your facebook page or favourite forum is very much like playing a slot machine; you never win, but you keep playing in the hope that some synchronous and perfect set of circumstances will award you with a PM or an old friend saying hello for the fuck of it.

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

While I, like many others, turn on my laptop first thing in the morning and turn it off last thing in the evening (if I don't simply collapse with it still on ), I wouldn't say it's a matter of addiction. Most of my daily activities just happen to be online, like visiting this forum, chatting to friends, watching YouTube etc. I can easily take time off, and I actually enjoy that since it allows me to enjoy other things like playing games, reading books, etc. without getting distracted; I've found that the internet severely lowers my attention span. Unlike many people I actually find holidays the best and easiest time to completely disconnect from the internet, even if I have my laptop with me and there's internet access.

 

I do, however, get a bit agitated when I haven't been online for a while since the (online) world moves on without me, and I feel like I'm missing out; this is especially true when I've been away from this forum for more than a day at a time. Also, in relation to the lowering of my attention span, my laziness sometimes results in me just mindlessly browsing the internet when there's something I'd actually rather be doing, like reading a book or playing a game. This used to be worse, but I've become better at avoiding it. Interestingly, this tendency leads to a peculiar and rather annoying situation when I'm procrastinating since my conscience and laziness are often an even match, meaning I'm too lazy to get work done, yet I still can't bring myself to actively take a couple of hours off to do something I really want to; the result is that I end up wasting those couple of hours neither getting work done nor actually doing something I want, but instead just mindlessly browsing the internet or doing something similarly uninteresting and unproductive.

[Magnus]

Interestingly, this tendency leads to a peculiar and rather annoying situation when I'm procrastinating since my conscience and laziness are often an even match, meaning I'm too lazy to get work done, yet I still can't bring myself to actively take a couple of hours off to do something I really want to; the result is that I end up wasting those couple of hours neither getting work done nor actually doing something I want, but instead just mindlessly browsing the internet or doing something similarly uninteresting and unproductive.

Haha, I think everybody does that.

 

Or at least that's what I tell myself whenever I waste a day procrastinating.

 

 

I have nothing to add to this topic that hasn't already been said.

[The Bard]

Don't any of you find that you need to have this decompression time where you have to spend time away from a computer, or any sort of electronic screen, and do something like read a magazine or look at a map or something before you can fall asleep. Because I just can't go from looking at a screen to sleep, it will take me hours unless I spend some time in front of something less...intense?

[Goafer]

Don't any of you find that you need to have this decompression time where you have to spend time away from a computer, or any sort of electronic screen, and do something like read a magazine or look at a map or something before you can fall asleep. Because I just can't go from looking at a screen to sleep, it will take me hours unless I spend some time in front of something less...intense?

 

I've heard that before, but I generally have no problem getting to sleep after looking at a screen.

 

I've heard reading a book is a good way to get to sleep, but I don't really see the difference between reading a book and reading a screen. Backlight maybe?

[Dannyboy-the-Dane]

I can't say I recognise it, either. As mentioned, due to having always had a hard time falling asleep when actively trying to, I most often and most easily fall asleep in front of a screen, be it my laptop or the tv.

[Happenstance]

Its supposed to be something to do with "Blue Light" that monitors use if I remember right. Just did a quick search and found this:

 

Blue light regulates our secretion of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Exposed to blue light, we limit the production of melatonin, and we stay alert and awake; in the absence of blue light, melatonin production ramps up, and we get sleepy.

[Goafer]

I stare at a monitor all day at work and I nod off at an alarming rate. A couple of other people do too. Probably more to do with the fact that certain parts of the lab work is God damn boring though.