Addicted to the web

CEBU, Philippines - Some people cannot avoid the internet. It’s where they make their living. They get up in the morning, switch the computer on, and before they could even fix their first cup of coffee, they are already clicking from website to website.

Before they know it, they’ve already spent an hour or so surfing the internet – no breakfast, no shower yet. This routine is not limited among those with online jobs. There are those that are in the habit of constantly looking for the freshest posts on social media, the latest music available online and any interesting apps for downloading.

Whatever their reasons for going online, people are unknowingly getting themselves sucked deeper into the internet every time. If they’re not at their desktop computers, they’re fiddling with their smartphones or any other internet-ready handheld device. They want to be ‘connected’ anywhere they go.

While sifting through various sites, it’s likely for one to come across something interesting. It’s likely that he or she gets hooked on it, and time just slips away. It’s not the person’s fault. It’s just course of habit.

Actually, it’s an addiction. It’s no different from being addicted to gambling, or to alcohol, or to sexy bodies, or to fast cars or to drugs. It may not be much of a problem if the addiction is necessary – because it does something of positive value for the person, like finding clients or selling something etc. But if the compulsion brings only waste and degradation, then it is bad.

If surfing the internet or engaging in social media gets in the way of a young person’s school or a grownup’s job, it is indeed a problem. And it doesn’t end there. Technology addictions can reportedly lead to increased stress-levels, shorter attention spans (especially in kids), irregular sleep-patterns and poor sleep, to name a few.

And yet, regardless of whether or not one’s job, lifestyle or education has anything to do with the internet, if he or she spends more time with gadgets than with loved ones, that is addiction still. Fortunately, there are ways to get the addiction under control – and even put one’s internet knowledge to work in the positive.

There’s no denying about the internet being a useful and invaluable tool. Even if one is not a fan of Facebook or Twitter, these social networking sites have their uses as marketing, fundraising campaigns and even charitable advocacies. A little bit of Facebook and Twitter can actually help.

The internet and social media are so mainstream now and are such an intricate part of the modern lifestyle. The frequent mention of these communication technologies by celebrities all the more bring it to the fore of the public mind. And so it seems to get everybody to want to be in this playing field.

Again, these technological innovations are neither good nor bad of and by themselves. It’s the way people use these technologies that define its value for them. In other words, to make technology work for and not against people, they have to look for its positive uses. 

Perhaps any person would swear he’s not an internet addict. Well, fine. Put another way: Too much of anything isn’t good. Even if one uses the internet and social media ‘only’ for good, he still has to learn to take some time off.

A little self-control can go a long way. There are many other ways, for sure, to spend one’s spare time. Internet and the social media are not the only interesting things there are to life. (FREEMAN)