Internet Addictions

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I was curious if anyone here at WP has a bad internet addiction, I am having a very tough time cutting
back on Second Life,it sort of feels my avatar is more of a person then I am, I definitely have more
friends on there then in RL, it almost feels like its a drug thats destroying my life, its been hard because
if I am not in SL I am in WP. What are the treatments for internet addictions

My internet connection is a mobile DSL connection. I get bad ping. It's around 374ms which is very laggy.

Having internet addiction troubles not internet connection troubles :lol:

i limit myself to only half an hour a day to internet/ WP, if i dont I get hyper-stimulated ans start stimming like a fool.

In what way do you feel that it's destroying your life, Friskeygirl?

In itself there is nothing wrong with having more friends on SL than in RL. What is it about the situation that you don't like?

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well some days I am in sl 18 hours, I loose track of time, I am un motivated to do anything in the real world, I seem to have cut myself off from friends and family
If I am off second life more then a day I start getting in a panic, like I am missing out on something important. I know it sounds kind of stupid but its become my only
access for social contact, and I am worried its getting worse.

It sounds rather similar to some people's immersion in their "special interest", which can take over their lives, stop them eating , going out, etc.

Would you feel as worried about spending this much time on another kind of special interest? Or is it because it is the internet that you think it is wrong/unhealthy to be so absorbed in it?

How long have you been "special interesting" in SL? Is the problem that it no longer seems as interesting, ( the special interest is dying ), and yet you can't seem to break the habit of going on because that's what you did for so long?

Or are you as interested as ever and in fact more and more so? Is there really any reason to stop if it is still interesting/fascinating? Obviously if a special interest stops one doing the things necessary for life, eating, sleeping, earning money or whatever, then it is destructive, but if you have friendships on there maybe it is good for you, and you are just worrying because of the belief that "you're not supposed to spend so much time on the internet".

I don't think I have an internet problem at the moment, but I do wonder about my son, and I have in the past been pretty driven about it, but it seemed to stop when I was no longer interested/when the effort/activity involved no longer seemed worth it.

What would you be doing if you weren't on SL/WP?

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I'm on the Internet for at least 5 hours a day, but the Internet is a part of who I am. I'd go nuts if I wasn't connected to the modern world, via Internet, for at least 5 hours a day. That's how I get the best of both the best 20 years of my favourite rock band and the modern world to compliment one another. I can't hack it without the Internet or The Kinks, or the 1960s in that matter, so I need both to stay alive. I can spend up to 10 hours a day on the Internet, but the Internet is my gateway to the next comming century. I'd be in even more of a timewarp, if I didn't have the Internet comming into my council flat, every month. I've lived through that in 1996. I don't need to be going through that again, as 2009 becomes 2010. BTW, Council flat is just my fancy term for subsidized apartment. It sounds much nicer. Anyways, you get the drift as to why I rely on the Internet.

Well I use to be able to limit myself to a few hours in the evening just on Wikipedia or Slashdot,use to be very active snowboarding
and getting outside going on long walks, but that stopped last year in November when I broke my leg, I was never into games like second life but one day after an episode of CSI NY Down the Rabbit Hole that's where I went. I got involved with Wrong Planet in SL
and made some great friends and also made alot of other very good friends, but as what normally happens people leave, in the mean time I am so caught up in the fun and excitement of this world that is so much better then my life, at some point it stopped being a game and thats what I guess I am worried about. I am sort of hoping there some sort of 12 step program for second life addiction. I should get off the forum and to bed, its after 5am, I am also addicted to WP nite nite

It can get addictive or an obsession pretty quick.

Took a couple hours yesterday to finally get away from this thing and do the dishes, go through some old papers, sack up the trash.
It was a struggle to break free of the PC.


And here we go again today

Ok I get what your implying

It seem that when I get up the first thing I go to if the computer, or if my room mate is home, I am climbing the walls, waited for her
to go somewhere, like right now, she finally left for work, so I immediately head for the computer. Its not fair to her that I am this way
she has been so good to me this past year, but my problems are making our friendship a little strained.

I've never done Second Life -- I'm afraid I would get stuck there. I do lose track of time while on the internet, so I have to watch that. However, I find it such a great research tool, I don't think I could stand to give it up entirely. Especially when it comes to reading material. My local library is tiny, and there are no bookstores near me. So I do some of my reading online, and also order books online.

But I have to watch my use of forums like this one.

Its seems like if I try to decrease my SL time my WP time increases
anyhow I did cut down on my hours online today, I did talk with a
good friend in SL about internet addiction, it seems to be a problem
with her too, but it was a good day, got my ass out the door to shovel
the snow off the walks and it felt real good.

unless there's something critical to life you're not doing because you're on the net, i personally don't see a problem.

i've never felt everyone must do whatever their particular culture says it the normal thing to do. not everyone must have children, or get a degree, or drive around in a car, or socialize with X number of people X times a week. some would be very sad and crippled without such things, some would not.

i'd just check with myself: am i unhappy in some major, ongoing way because of how i spend my time? and that first one: is there some activitiy critical to sustaining life that i'm not doing in favor of (insert consuming activity here).

obviously, shared computing in your situation is not ideal. i'd use some of that time online to look on craigslist daily (you can even set up alerts). people can and do give away old but functional computers on there. also, ditto freecycle (look for a freecycle in your area, there likely is one).

i wasn't on the net for seven years. illness combined with the gift of an iphone and a macbook for me, and currently i'm online from morning till night. but i'm not concerned. partly because there's nothing else going on right now, partly because i'm developing skills in photo/digital art stuff---which i plan to put to use in the not too far future.

if i were failing to eat, or had a job i was ducking out of to play sl, i'd have a problem. as things stand, i have a blessing and an opportunity.

so look closely at your own circumstance, and spend a week or so noting how you feel throughout the day, to gauge your use of time and see what it really is for you.

and really: the craigslist and freecycle stuff: i've seen about 12 or so pc's offered this year. free.

good luck.

Others such as Young and other psychologists, feel that used in excess, the Internet can become hazardous to one's mental and physical health. By definition, an addiction does interfere with normal, adaptive functioning. So if someone is addicted, his or her functioning is maladaptive. This may manifest itself in a few of the symptoms classified by the American Psychiatric Association, or it may manifest itself in all of them.


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