topic by
Louderback
8/25/2002 (13:57) |
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Issue Date: August 25, 2002 In this article:
Internet Junkie test
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Are you an Internet junkie?
E-mail. Chat. EBay. If the thought of not being connected makes you anxious, listen up.
By Jim Louderback
'Where does all my money go?' It's a common lament, but for Bonnie Burton, a writer and editor from San Francisco, it was a true mystery. 'I must be dining out too much,' she thought. But after a few weeks on the Ramen noodle diet with no improvement, she started looking further afield.
Surrounded by tiki mugs, and with a velvet painting of Kenny Rogers on the wall, suddenly it hit her: 'I'm addicted to eBay.'
It's not just online shopaholics either. Michelle M., who didn't want me to use her last name, says she became an obsessive chatroom addict during her sophomore year of college. 'I moved into my own apartment, and I was slightly depressed, so instead of studying, I spent most of my free time online. That semester, I failed two classes and was put on probation.'
Move over, drugs and alcohol. High-tech addiction has become a big problem. 'Five to 10% of online users fit the profile for addiction,' says Kimberly Young, director of the Center for Online and Internet Addiction.
Those signs include withdrawal from the real world, an increased need to be online, losing control over time spent online, lying to cover up Internet behavior, and endangering family, friends, work and school. 'People can lose their job, lose their marriage. Some people have gotten arrested for downloading porn or other illegal behavior, and some have lost massive amounts of money on eBay, day trading or gambling,' Young says. 'It's just like other addictions, including alcohol, cocaine and gambling.'
I've started worrying about my family and friends. Take Uncle Jay: A few years ago, I helped him buy a computer. Little did I know what I was enabling. He seemed fine, up until late last year, when he retired from his job flying helicopters for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Suddenly he turned into a 24-hour-a-day spam machine. Friends and relatives were inundated with e-mailed jokes, silly videos and pithy 'commentary' about the state of the world. Even worse, we couldn't get him to stop.
'Yup, I'm an addict,' Uncle Jay confessed when I confronted him. Luckily, Aunt Pat was on the case. 'I just nagged him into sensible usage,' she says proudly. That, and a whirlwind travel schedule sans computer, seem to have eased the glut of unwanted messages.
After complaining about Uncle Jay, though, I began to wonder if I could be addicted to computers and the Internet, too. Clearly, my family's no stranger to compulsive, addictive behavior.
To find the answer, I turned inward -- and I wasn't too happy with what I saw. I had just spent a week in a beautiful cottage, nestled in the hills of Vermont, surrounded by sugar maples, birches and oaks. It was late spring, verdant and lush, a perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors. I really didn't need to be online at all, yet I felt compelled to check in at least a few times each day. If I hadn't been online by dusk, I got a bit jumpy.
Naturally, I logged on to plumb the depths of my problem. Young has a handy self-test on her Web site, so I took that. It turns out I'm just 'an average online user.' Phew. (You can take it, too. See box at right.)
Think you have a problem? 'Not everyone who spends a lot of time online is an addict,' Young says reassuringly, 'just like not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic.' But if you're concerned, 'try to cut down.'
My problem, Young adds, isn't the Internet. It's, well, me. She suggests I have 'a problem in not knowing how to relax.' According to the research company Gartner, 42% of workers with e-mail share my problem and check their e-mail on vacation. Young's prescription for us wired vacationers: Leave the computer at home.
Contributing Editor Jim Louderback is the author of Secrets of the Digital Studio.
Next time you go on vacation, leave your laptop at home.
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Find out how hooked you really are
Worried you spend too much time online? Assess your level of addiction by answering the following questions, using this scale:
1 = Rarely 2 = Occasionally 3 = Frequently
4 = Often 5 = Always DNA = Does not apply
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1. How often do you find you stay online longer than you intended?
2. How often do you neglect household chores to spend more time online?
3. How often do you prefer the excitement of the Internet to intimacy with your partner?
4. How often do you form new relationships with fellow online users?
5. How often do others in your life complain to you about the amount of time you spend online?
6. How often do your grades or schoolwork suffer because of the amount of time you spend online?
7. How often do you check your e-mail before doing something else you need to do?
8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?
9. How often do you become defensive or secretive when someone asks you what you do online?
10. How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?
11. How often do you find yourself looking forward to going online again?
12. How often do you fear that life without the Internet would be boring, empty and joyless?
13. How often do you snap, yell or act annoyed if someone bothers you while you are online?
14. How often do you feel preoccupied with the Internet when offline, or fantasize about being online?
15. How often do late-night log-ins cost you sleep?
16. How often do you find yourself saying 'just a few more minutes' when online?
17. How often do you try to cut down on the amount of time you spend online -- and fail?
18. How often do you try to hide how long you've been online?
19. How often do you choose to spend more time online over going out with others?
20. How often do you feel depressed, moody or nervous when you are offline, a feeling that goes away once you are back online?
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Add the numbers you selected to determine your score.
20-49 points: You are an average online user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.
50-79 points: You experience occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet. Consider their full impact on your life.
80-100 points: Your Internet usage is causing significant problems in your life. Evaluate the impact of the Internet on your life and address the problems directly caused by your Internet usage.
Source: Kimberly Young, author of Caught in the Net
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