Addiction to internet/computers
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Originally Posted by biminiblue 
Isn't The Guardian like The National Enquirer? Those papers are more tawdry gossipy "entertainment" than anything else.
http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/2014/01/1...ame-addiction/
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Originally Posted by biminiblue
Isn't The Guardian like The National Enquirer? Those papers are more tawdry gossipy "entertainment" than anything else.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Europe
Posts: 1,361
This thread got me thinking...that's often a good thing.
I'm 30 now.
Always been socially....limp haha.
I spent most of childhood behind a pc and a gameboy-.
I spent most of my time teen years playing counterstrike and getting high.
I spent most of my twenties playing gamecube, playstation 2, PC, DS, Wii....and getting high and being depressed/messed up on internet forums.
Now i'm 30, I'm playing World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, 3DS games, random I-Pad stuff, phone stuff. Forums stuff (being less depressed).
Maybe this is not true, but at least I remember it this way. I remember gameboy tunes other 26 years back, but I hardly can remember riding my bike or building a hut or swimming,
I get upset if I can't play videogames for 1 day at least 1 hour.
That's NOT healthy.
I do have a job, I work out 4-6 times per week, take care of pets, and stuff around the house, I meditate and sleep 7-8 hours a day, and, I'm completely sober for quite some time now. Relationship going well. So there a good things too.
I always thought that, as long as I'm sober, I can get 'lost' online and in videogames.
But that's an addiction too.
I've tried giving up videogames several times.
I got really weird intense dreams sometimes nightmares.
More intense then quitting drugs.
I've kind of delaid adressing this behaviour the last two years cause getting sober was top priority, but this thread made me realise I've got to start paying attention to this too
Sorry for the rambling had a long day....
I'm 30 now.
Always been socially....limp haha.
I spent most of childhood behind a pc and a gameboy-.
I spent most of my time teen years playing counterstrike and getting high.
I spent most of my twenties playing gamecube, playstation 2, PC, DS, Wii....and getting high and being depressed/messed up on internet forums.
Now i'm 30, I'm playing World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, 3DS games, random I-Pad stuff, phone stuff. Forums stuff (being less depressed).
Maybe this is not true, but at least I remember it this way. I remember gameboy tunes other 26 years back, but I hardly can remember riding my bike or building a hut or swimming,
I get upset if I can't play videogames for 1 day at least 1 hour.
That's NOT healthy.
I do have a job, I work out 4-6 times per week, take care of pets, and stuff around the house, I meditate and sleep 7-8 hours a day, and, I'm completely sober for quite some time now. Relationship going well. So there a good things too.
I always thought that, as long as I'm sober, I can get 'lost' online and in videogames.
But that's an addiction too.
I've tried giving up videogames several times.
I got really weird intense dreams sometimes nightmares.
More intense then quitting drugs.
I've kind of delaid adressing this behaviour the last two years cause getting sober was top priority, but this thread made me realise I've got to start paying attention to this too
Sorry for the rambling had a long day....
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
I'm guilty of *all* those crimes one of EndGame's have raised - in my dreams.
Yeah neglecting a child, letting them die...
a pet,
any relative,
my employees,
even employers (scary),
I have never done any of these in real life, but have done repeatedly in my dreams, and sadly (given how I'm versed in conscious dreaming), I have done these in some of these things even in my lucid dreams. Many times.
My therapist is intrigued by these experiences, but I don't think he is very skilled with dreams... actually I am, and my meditation teacher is
Anyhow, guys, don't get distracted ...
Yeah neglecting a child, letting them die...
a pet,
any relative,
my employees,
even employers (scary),
I have never done any of these in real life, but have done repeatedly in my dreams, and sadly (given how I'm versed in conscious dreaming), I have done these in some of these things even in my lucid dreams. Many times.
My therapist is intrigued by these experiences, but I don't think he is very skilled with dreams... actually I am, and my meditation teacher is
Anyhow, guys, don't get distracted ...
Guest
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 14,636
Originally Posted by LadyBlue0527
Here's the worst. I was having a conversation with my husband about his video game buds. You know, the ones that he has a whole different personality for. I told him that sometimes it appears that he cares more about them than he does his own family. Get this reply. He likes dealing with people on the internet because he can back out anytime he feels like it. If he's done interacting he doesn't have to stay engaged in a conversation like you have to on real life.
Wow what have we become?
Wow what have we become?
And I can because I can relate 
waking down
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,641
Great conversation. A few observations inspired by other posts and my own experience:
Like any addiction, it's only a problem if it's a problem. Neglecting work? Loved ones? Having relationship problems? Getting really heavy or lacking exercise? Feeling guilty about use? Hiding your using or minimizing? Financial issues related to internet use? Just plain uncomfortable about perceived excessive use?
When I got sober six months ago, I started spending a lot of time on SR and almost immediately started wondering... When I was posting a lot it was because I was suffering and needed the connection. No A.A. in my rural enclave. Social isolation due to the fact that most everyone I socialized with drinks and I needed to steer clear for awhile. I was lonely and needed help and the good folks here at SR may very well have literally saved my life. Thanks for that, BTW.
I think it is most important to be mindful about our use and whether it is causing any problems or regrets. A few things I've done to cut back:
1) Unless I have a specific ("real") reason to have my phone in my pocket, I leave it off and in my desk at work or out of site at home.
2) When I realize I am compulsively heading for the computer or the phone or pad I stop and ask myself if I'm on automatic or if I have a specific reason to check email or whatever. Also, am I heading online to avoid a task or a feeling/emotion? This way I can make a decision rather than just zombie my way back online.
3) I've been trying to meditate more, so I've started making deals like telling myself I will sit for ten minutes before going back to the internet. Like a child whose parent says they have to do something to earn TV time, I try to earn my online time.
4) Also in line with mindfulness practice, I try to be compassionate with myself. If I binge online for a bit I don't criticize myself for it, but rather, just make a mental note that I realized I was online for a long time and neglected to take care of X or Y.
The web is like food. We can do without alcohol, but we need food, so learning moderation is a trick. Same with the internet. Email, if nothing else, is a necessity, and my work increasingly requires time online to access programs and resources. For me it's about balance.
Maybe something I wrote here will be helpful to someone. Maybe I'm just wasting time on the internet. Tee hee.
Like any addiction, it's only a problem if it's a problem. Neglecting work? Loved ones? Having relationship problems? Getting really heavy or lacking exercise? Feeling guilty about use? Hiding your using or minimizing? Financial issues related to internet use? Just plain uncomfortable about perceived excessive use?
When I got sober six months ago, I started spending a lot of time on SR and almost immediately started wondering... When I was posting a lot it was because I was suffering and needed the connection. No A.A. in my rural enclave. Social isolation due to the fact that most everyone I socialized with drinks and I needed to steer clear for awhile. I was lonely and needed help and the good folks here at SR may very well have literally saved my life. Thanks for that, BTW.
I think it is most important to be mindful about our use and whether it is causing any problems or regrets. A few things I've done to cut back:
1) Unless I have a specific ("real") reason to have my phone in my pocket, I leave it off and in my desk at work or out of site at home.
2) When I realize I am compulsively heading for the computer or the phone or pad I stop and ask myself if I'm on automatic or if I have a specific reason to check email or whatever. Also, am I heading online to avoid a task or a feeling/emotion? This way I can make a decision rather than just zombie my way back online.
3) I've been trying to meditate more, so I've started making deals like telling myself I will sit for ten minutes before going back to the internet. Like a child whose parent says they have to do something to earn TV time, I try to earn my online time.
4) Also in line with mindfulness practice, I try to be compassionate with myself. If I binge online for a bit I don't criticize myself for it, but rather, just make a mental note that I realized I was online for a long time and neglected to take care of X or Y.
The web is like food. We can do without alcohol, but we need food, so learning moderation is a trick. Same with the internet. Email, if nothing else, is a necessity, and my work increasingly requires time online to access programs and resources. For me it's about balance.
Maybe something I wrote here will be helpful to someone. Maybe I'm just wasting time on the internet. Tee hee.
Guest
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 14,636
Zero, those are all great ideas. Thanks for sharing I might try out a few of them. I do #1 and #4 already sometimes. And about the meditation... my poor neglected zafu and zabuton sit in a corner gathering dust.
I might try out a few of them. I do #1 and #4 already sometimes. And about the meditation... my poor neglected zafu and zabuton sit in a corner gathering dust. 
Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Here, EH!!!
Posts: 1,337
Well if you are alcoholic, you have an addictive mindset. Computers/Internet is just a byproduct, same goes for porn, gambling, pills, going to meetings all the time, drugs, over-working, over-working out, scratch tickets, pull tabs, whatever you name it. You have an addictive mindset, if one is good then 100 should do the trick. What is abnormal becomes normal after a period of time, its time to change the way you think. Live a life of balance, thats what its all about.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Leeds
Posts: 399
Here's an article I read at uni about how our constant use of the internet is changing our brains. It's the reason I make an effort to read a book every night no matter how tired I am.
Is Google Making Us Stupid? - Nicholas Carr - The Atlantic
Is Google Making Us Stupid? - Nicholas Carr - The Atlantic
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: against the grain
Posts: 746
We living out Plato's Allegory of the Cave, I think, chained to our computers, thinking what we see and experience is real, and when someone breaks away and enter the real world and points out how distorted and dead we have become, we attack.
Human conscious is shifting and it's pretty scary.
Human conscious is shifting and it's pretty scary.
EndGame
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 4,677
Originally Posted by malcolmsloan
We living out Plato's Allegory of the Cave, I think, chained to our computers, thinking what we see and experience is real, and when someone breaks away and enter the real world and points out how distorted and dead we have become, we attack.
Human conscious is shifting and it's pretty scary.
Human conscious is shifting and it's pretty scary.
waking down
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 4,641
Human consciousness is shifting. It is what it is. Epigenetics (Epigenetics: DNA Isn’t Everything -- ScienceDaily) would suggest there are many factors about 20th-21st century living that will transform us in many ways.
When I consider nutrition, the paleo diet, Irish ancestry, epigenetics...I can't help but wonder what will happen to my blood line over the next few generations. It sounds stereotypical, but when I look at the disease and alcoholism in my family, I can't help but think about generations of whiskey, stout, and potatoes, and more recently, marijuana, molly, acid...
Add to that other environmental influences - like formal schooling, driving/traffic, and yes, digital devices - and one could say we are ripe for some relatively rapid transformation at the level of our very DNA.
I remember during the cold war having discussions about how technology had progressed far faster than humans (intellect, morality) have evolved. One could argue that our brains are not radically different from those of people living before the Renaissance, and yet, here we are in a brave new world. Another hundred years and we very well could find classic literature and philosophy, for example, so foreign as to be unable to empathize or grasp contexts or meaning...
Compassion will continue to be central to our survival as a species. If we look at the influence of social media in relation to ongoing events in the Middle East...
And certainly, we see problems with communication arise when people are much more willing to "say" things online that they would never utter to someone's face...
This is partly why I find online intellectual banter stimulating but in some ways hollow. I want to shake your hands. Look you in the eyes. Feel your electric field (Human electricity and the human electro magnetic field.) mingling with mine.
On the other hand, I've taken online courses and was convinced the conversations were at a higher level than the typical classroom conversation. This is because of the internet, the ability to research and provide links, the lag time to consider a response, the inability of a loudmouth to monopolize the discussion...
Like I said at the beginning...it is what it is. Shifts in human consciousness could prove positive, negative, or both.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still think there is value in a hug.
When I consider nutrition, the paleo diet, Irish ancestry, epigenetics...I can't help but wonder what will happen to my blood line over the next few generations. It sounds stereotypical, but when I look at the disease and alcoholism in my family, I can't help but think about generations of whiskey, stout, and potatoes, and more recently, marijuana, molly, acid...
Add to that other environmental influences - like formal schooling, driving/traffic, and yes, digital devices - and one could say we are ripe for some relatively rapid transformation at the level of our very DNA.
I remember during the cold war having discussions about how technology had progressed far faster than humans (intellect, morality) have evolved. One could argue that our brains are not radically different from those of people living before the Renaissance, and yet, here we are in a brave new world. Another hundred years and we very well could find classic literature and philosophy, for example, so foreign as to be unable to empathize or grasp contexts or meaning...
Compassion will continue to be central to our survival as a species. If we look at the influence of social media in relation to ongoing events in the Middle East...
And certainly, we see problems with communication arise when people are much more willing to "say" things online that they would never utter to someone's face...
This is partly why I find online intellectual banter stimulating but in some ways hollow. I want to shake your hands. Look you in the eyes. Feel your electric field (Human electricity and the human electro magnetic field.) mingling with mine.
On the other hand, I've taken online courses and was convinced the conversations were at a higher level than the typical classroom conversation. This is because of the internet, the ability to research and provide links, the lag time to consider a response, the inability of a loudmouth to monopolize the discussion...
Like I said at the beginning...it is what it is. Shifts in human consciousness could prove positive, negative, or both.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still think there is value in a hug.
Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: US
Posts: 556
I like the comment "it's only a problem if it's a problem." For me, I have identified it as a problem because I find myself using internet browsing as an escape like television or drinking in the place of things that will add value to my life like reading, writing, cleaning my house, hanging out with my kids. So I have used two tools that are both effective: leechblock (a firefox add-in that will block the sites you tell it to for the hours you tell it to (i.e. Facebook and forums only available for 1 hour a day), or even more extreme: Freedom, an app that lets you turn off your internet completely for a period of time.
It works if I work it.
It works if I work it.
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