It's only been two days since I decided to cut down on my internet usage, but already I've failed to limit myself to two hours a day. During the day I can use the internet for two hours, but late at night when there's nothing else to do I get bored and can't resist being online. Being offline has given me many opportunities to get little chores done, even if I have to write them down first, I'm still being more productive. But the internet is still more appealing and I feel unhappy if I'm not doing something online when I could be. I think those are symptoms of internet addiction, a topic that was discussed five years ago when people were starting to get high speed connections and more new services were offered online. Now I never hear anything about internet addiction and how big a problem it is because online life is considered important. People do business online, converse, and download media on the internet so much that being online for hours on end is not unacceptible anymore.
For me the internet is not an addiction, it's an escape from reality. To me reality is drab and depressing. When I'm traveling I don't miss the internet much or worry about email, blogs, or news. I guess I need to reevaluate whether I should be spending much of the day online, despite many college students doing just that.
