…when you turn on your computer? I am. On weekends, when not at work, and even at work ( I have a computer on my desk) I get my coffee and turn on the computer. The first thing I click on is Outlook Express to check the mail. Finding no mail I check on my Hotmail…finding no mail there either I click on The Straight Dope Message board. I read, post or answer a couple of items then think…“ummm I wonder if by now I have any mail in Outlook Express.” (By then like a dumbass I have closed that program out) finding no mail there I remember that I have that Hotmail account too. So I go over to the Hotmail and check it. Finding no mail I click on The Straight Dope Message Board…post, read or answer a couple of items then wonder if by now I have any mail in Outlook (even if I have just minimized it I click the send/rec button anyway just in case the program has fucked up and not retrieved my mail) finding no mail…I remember that Hotmail account and…well you get the picture…
Sometimes this deadly triangle scenario is interrupted when I actually get some email.
When I get to work, I turn on the computer, go get the days paper ( I work at the paper, so I get one for free), then I make my tea and my bagel.
I open my outlook email (pretty much work only stuff)the on to the internet. I check my yahoo mail, the boards, then read ABC news and ABC news off the wire. Then I read the paper cover to cover. Takes pretty much an hour.
If for some unknown reason this gets interrupted ( like by actual work) my entire day is off kilter. Its not a ‘rut’ its a comforting routine. And it takes less time than the smokers take.
Does this look familiar toantone?
Twelve stolen questions;
1.Has computer use stopped being fun?
2. Do you ever surf the web alone?
3. Is it hard for you to imagine a life without a computer?
4. Do you find that your friends are determined by your computer use?
5. Do you surf the web to avoid dealing with your problems?
6. Do you check your e-mail to cope with your feelings?
7. Does your computer use let you live in a privately defined world?
8. Have you ever failed to keep promises you made about cutting down or controlling your surfing?
9. Has your use of the computer caused problems with memory, concentration, or motivation?
10. When your e-mail is nearly empty, do you feel anxious or worried about how to get more?
11. Do you plan your life around your computer use?
12. Have friends or relatives ever complained that your web surfing is damaging your relationship with them?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a problem with computer addiction.
