Internet addiction: The invisible addiction?

[SeaOfGrass]

Originally Posted by bookspage

Eh. People used to have the TV on all day before the internet.

That's true, but they couldn't take it with them everywhere they went; driving, no less.

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

I know a few people who switched to old-school flip phones because they were tired of all the smart phone distractions.

Switched to?! I'm still on one. lol But apparently they won't be available for very much longer.

Originally Posted by matisse12

One can be glued to the internet and TV simultaneously - it is very easy to do both at the same time.

And one can be addicted to the internet without using a smart phone - by using a laptop computer (or tablet) instead.

I never wanted a computer. Then I needed one for the work I wanted to do. Then I was made aware of certain forums or applications ("Be careful, it's addictive!" I would think, Yeah, yeah, okay. Next thing you know, I'm addicted. Trying to work away from that as we speak.)

[healthy_]

What's the most weird to me is how triggering is entertainment on the Internet (listening to music, Fb, Social media) and watching too much TV for me. When I did a digital and TV detox back in 2013, I literally went back to my childhood self. Suddenly my personality changed. I was calmer and as days went by all traces of depression, anxiety, negativity and over-analyzing went away.

That said, YMMV. I have no filter, I'm like a sponge for new info, but too much info makes me feel wasted and makes me too overanalytical, which is not good. So for me avoiding Social media, YouTube, forums, and search engines (except Google Scholar) at home makes sense. Thank God for libraries and web caffes! I can always go there when I need to watch videos or browse photos for example. I like to use my home Internet just for Google scholar, email, job searching and language learning with Duolingo and other sites. The only difficult thing is Facebook as I have friends with whom it's my only contact. Some of them dont use WhatsApp.

[kitty61]

Originally Posted by healthy_

Hi everyone, I am a web addict since the time we got web access. Strangely, I was at my happiest as a child in the 90s before discovering the Internet and when I watched less TV. And then again in 2013, when I seriously cut down the time spent on the Internet and watching TV. Do you believe that TV and the Internet can be addictive? How can you use the Web sparingly? I could be online all day, reading and posting on many forums, Fb, news sites, etc. It's like I have no self-control when it comes to it. How to cope except for not using it at all at home. I try blocking programs like K9 Web Protection but I always bypass it.

Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous - aka ITAA (this is not a link)