My Name's Edahn, and I'm an Internet Addict
So a friend asked me why I haven't posted here much lately and there are a few reasons. But a big one that I wanted to own up to is my internet addiction.
For the past 2 years, I've been completely addicted to the internet. Reddit, Facebook, Facebook, News, forums, Lifehacker...it's been a trip. And it's sucked up all my time. I stopped investing in myself in a lot of key ways. I stopped reading about topics I found interesting and meaningful--things like Buddhism, self-helpy junk (that realistically, I would have probably stopped reading anyway because it's all the same), books on history, psychology, and whatever the hell I'm interested in that very second. I stopped exercising. I stopped going out with friends. And I stopped writing too, in my journals and in this beautiful blog.
It makes sense. The internet is monetized through advertisement, and advertisement is triggered by pageviews, so websites have incentive to make you keep visiting over and over, as much as possible. But at what cost? Our social lives? Our well-being(s)? Our mediocre blogs and adoring fans?
NAY NAY!
Well, this week I gave up Facebook. A month ago I gave up the news (that was hard, but it's relieving). You may see me post here a little more often in the coming months. And yes, I realize this is part of the internet, but hopefully a less addictive part. Mind you, I never advertise and never will.
What do you think? Facebook? News? Does it enrich our life or detract from it?
For the past 2 years, I've been completely addicted to the internet. Reddit, Facebook, Facebook, News, forums, Lifehacker...it's been a trip. And it's sucked up all my time. I stopped investing in myself in a lot of key ways. I stopped reading about topics I found interesting and meaningful--things like Buddhism, self-helpy junk (that realistically, I would have probably stopped reading anyway because it's all the same), books on history, psychology, and whatever the hell I'm interested in that very second. I stopped exercising. I stopped going out with friends. And I stopped writing too, in my journals and in this beautiful blog.
It makes sense. The internet is monetized through advertisement, and advertisement is triggered by pageviews, so websites have incentive to make you keep visiting over and over, as much as possible. But at what cost? Our social lives? Our well-being(s)? Our mediocre blogs and adoring fans?
NAY NAY!
Well, this week I gave up Facebook. A month ago I gave up the news (that was hard, but it's relieving). You may see me post here a little more often in the coming months. And yes, I realize this is part of the internet, but hopefully a less addictive part. Mind you, I never advertise and never will.
What do you think? Facebook? News? Does it enrich our life or detract from it?