Aren't there studies that suggest that if you use the internet too much it redraws the synaptic pathways in your brain? I don't quite know what that means but I know I certainly find myself able to concentrate more when I make a concerted effort to cut the internet out of my life.
Quote: zooo @ January 20 2012, 12:41 PM GMTIf I go without any of those things for too long (I mean as in days, not hours) I feel very odd and uncomfortable indeed.
Isn't that how you normally feel anyway?
Yes.
Quote: zooo @ January 20 2012, 5:19 PM GMTHappy to help!
I think you need to look at what addiction actually is to answer your question. Addiction is the compulsion to commit an act over and over again regardless of the negative consequences and outcomes. Need to check your Facebook status on your phone is probably more obsessive. If you were however to do it regardless of what you are meant to be doing.... Driving, flying a plane, completing brain surgery....it would probably be more addictive.
Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop @ January 20 2012, 7:39 PM GMTAddiction is the compulsion to commit an act over and over again regardless of the negative consequences and outcomes.
Well, I do smoke, which is a proper addiction when compared to the Internet. I could give up the Web but not the smokes.
I think Internet addiction comes in many sub-addictions - online gaming, Facebook, internet gambling, porn, chat rooms, comedy forums, etc. These can all be classified as negative acts. In fact, sitting in front of a computer talking to virtual people more then going out and meeting real people is probably it's biggest detraction.
Oh and those tossers who buy all the latest Apple crap just so they can pose around in a sickening display of overt consumerism and wannabe social acceptance. (Too far?)
Actually all you virtual people are a lot more interesting than some of the craps I know in real life.
But has being online impacted your health, family, or work to the point of losing it?
Not addicted. It is more interesting than real life though.
Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop @ January 20 2012, 8:26 PM GMTBut has being online impacted your health, family, or work to the point of losing it?
Health - yep, being sat in front of a computer screen for hours on end will kill me. (Not really, booze and fags have already called dibs)
Family - Not yet, but I'm sure Facebook will end my future marriage at some point.
Work - Not yet. But I'm sure loads of people have lost their jobs through browsing Facebook, porn, LOLCats.
My biggest addiction is Pepsi Max. Honestly, sometimes, when I haven't had any for a while, and I open a bottle, I start acting like a junkie getting a fix, as I swig it down. I really hope all the bad things people say about Aspartame aren't true.
Quote: Renegade Carpark @ January 20 2012, 8:41 PM GMT.
I'm sure loads of people have lost their jobs through browsing Facebook, porn, LOLCats.
We don't all get the urge to take our clothes off while doing it though. That was the REAL reason you lost your job at PC world.
No, not at all. It's a habit, certainly, one I indulge too much, but going without it doesn't hurt me at all. I enjoy going without it, but because it's there of course I use it way too much. I don't really care for it, in truth, there's something about it I just don't like, its artificiality, its modernity and its awful jargon. I use it only because it is quite handy and it's there. If I were forced into a field with only a book, a piece of stilton and a bottle of Chabrolet 1972, and perhaps some sweetmeats, I'd be a far more contented man.