Putting an End to a Decade-Long Internet Addiction

Hello, everyone! I am a 20-year-old gamer, musician, and collector. If there's anything else you'd like to know about me, please, don't hesitate to ask me either here or through PM.

I really need everyone's support and encouragement on this because I have led a life of loneliness and despair. I don't want to go back to those days...!

Anyway, brace yourselves!

I have come to realize that my Internet addiction of 12 years has got to stop now while I still have food and a roof over my head. I have never had a job, and my family has always given me crap about me not wanting to do anything with my life (in which case, they're right). Well, I have had ENOUGH of this damn addiction! It is time I step up and learn to sort my life out. The Internet is an amazing, resourceful tool but it is also filled with so much garbage that millions and millions of net users get sucked in. Well, I think it's time that I bid my Internet addiction adieu, for I am already 20 years old and I am not a child anymore; I should be getting out of the house and meeting other people instead of just rotting away in front of the "idiot rectangle" (I use a laptop).

Awful things Internet addiction has done to me

- Internet addiction has made me a very lazy and unwilling fellow who would usually take 2-3 hours to start the day off.

- Internet addiction has caused me great amounts of stress and anxiety. (For example, I have lots of pornographic material scattered around my two laptops and I start getting paranoid when people ask me if they can use my computer to check something.) The death of a loved one 2 years ago only made my situation worse.

- Internet addiction has prevented me from exercising and staying fit.

- Internet addiction has put lots of strain into my eyes, from constantly staring at the monitor for about 6+ hours a day. (Not natural.)

- Internet addiction has made me less social with my friends and made me feel more impatient (like when I would wait longer than 5-10 minutes for a friend on an instant messenger program to respond to me and I'd start wondering if I said something that could have offended them or if I am bugging them too much).

- Internet addiction has turned me away from playing some of my favorite video game consoles (I grew up with the Super Nintendo and still have it). Thankfully, at least I never got into MMORPGs or any other online game services. I mainly emulated.

- Internet addiction has made me very obsessed with atheism and religion. Of course I am glad to no longer subscribe to any organized religion (I hold no grudges against those who do, just the ones that try to shove their beliefs down others' throats because I find it very inhumane), but I don't want to continue obsessing over it; it makes me feel very depressed. I don't want this.

- Internet addiction has made me very untidy. Currently I have 4 stacks of plates, 2 stacks of cereal bowls, 3 stacks of 8 oz glass cups, and 2-3 forks and knives and 7 spoons. I have bits of shed hair (I have long, frizzy hair) here and there on the carpet and it is quite embarrassing!

- Internet addiction has made me procrastinate on class assignments and fail school indubitably.

- Internet addiction has wasted so much of my precious, precious time that could have been used for other things that are more worthwhile and productive. In fact, my one-year-and-a-half Facebook addiction has worsened me to the point where I just had to delete my account once and for all.

- Internet addiction has made me forget about the usefulness and convenience of doing real-life alternatives, such as mailing out letters/post cards to friends instead of just refreshing my e-mail inbox every 1 hour when I am awake, or listening to my massive cassette/CD/record collection instead of just sitting around my computer listening to MP3s.

So you see, I am in a SERIOUS need of a change! I am sick and tired of living this sad and pathetic lifestyle. The stupidity of sites like 4chan inspired me to leave the Internet behind.

Here are steps I will be taking one-at-a-time to fight my way out of Internet addiction and back to living a more simple and productive lifestyle

Step 1 Admit I have an addiction, that no one can change me but myself.

Step 2 I make my own reality; therefore, effort must be exerted from none other but me if I want something changed.

Step 3 Tell other people (regardless if I know them or not) about my goal. By telling other people about my story and struggle with Internet addiction I am receiving external support and encouragement. This is very crucial to me because no one wants to feel alone in this fight to end or at least suppress their own Internet addictions.

Step 4 Set a time limit for daily use. I can start off at no more than 2 hours a day. I can place a timer beside me and start it right as I start using the Internet. When I stop using the Internet I can just pause the timer and if I still have some minutes left I can resume later. I will work my way down to 1 hour a day and (hopefully) 30 minutes a day. I must believe in myself to not get the urge and break my own rules. Like I said, I WANT to put an end to my addiction.

Step 5 Once I am pretty comfortable with using the Internet for no more than 30 or 60 minutes a day I can start by using the Internet only when necessary (such as tracking an online auction I am bidding on and any news/articles that I can print out and read while away from the Internet). Thankfully, there really isn't much that I do that is productive on the Internet so this should be a piece of cake. I will have no problem saying goodbye to many of the sites I used to hang around a lot at. They don't need me, and I don't need them!

Step 6 Now that I am using the Internet only when I need it I can start looking for other alternatives to get the Internet out of my mind; I can listen to my music (physical formats only), watch my favorite old school movies and TV shows on my VCR/DVD player, read an interesting book or magazine related to a strong interest of mine (e.g., retro gaming, '70s & '80s heavy metal/hard rock bands, drumsets, etc.), play on my favorite video game consoles, vacuum my room, take out the trash, do the dishes, sweep the floors, go out for a power walk (while listening to my portable cassette player or my crappy little iPod, whichever comes first), draw/paint something that inspires me, draft out a storyline for my dream video game, and so much more...

Step 7 Once I have successfully broken out of the Internet habit (and I do feel "Internet sick" then I can just remove my wireless cards and sell them... that way the only Internet access I have afterwards would be at my local library, which only permits 1 hour a day of computer use). If I continue to start "missing" the Internet then I can find other ways to live WITHOUT it. I have to realize that this is for the BETTER, much like it is for the BETTER that a fat man starts jogging and lifting weights...

And I am the "fat man"!

Step 8 Having successfully combated my stressful Internet addiction I now have a more crystal clear grasp of life and how I can make my own reality rock. If I start making money I can derive pleasure and comfort by donating to charities that are legitimate and go for a more positive cause (i.e., orphaned children needing food and shelter, etc.). I'll admit I probably won't be the next Mother Teresa, but who knows!

And once I'm done with all that, here are things that I’d like to improve on in my life post-addiction

- I will finally get serious with my driving skills and reevaluate my permit in order to become more independent instead of just asking my dad to take me somewhere really far. You have no idea what it’s like to feel like a bum unless you were in my shoes! I am at least fortunate to still receive support from my family at the age of 20 (turning 21 later on this year).

- I will open myself up to more people and improve my chances at getting a really attractive girl to be my girlfriend. I have never had a girlfriend and thus I am still a virgin. I'm actually not some morbidly obese guy or someone with a really ugly face; I am actually at least above average compared to most other guys around me.

- I will reduce my junk food habit and start eating healthier meals.

- I will start power walking more often and (if I have enough money) I will join a cheap yet effective gym club so I can start exercising more. In fact, I might even start playing FOOT-ball with other friends (probably the only sport I have some respect for).

- I will get serious about jobs and raise enough money so I can travel.

- I will also do some other things that I’d been thinking of doing for a long time but I can’t recall what they were.

And here's a small rant of mine, concerning the technology of today

I miss the '90s when we weren't so technology-dependent and actually found OTHER (rather, BETTER) ways to entertain ourselves when bored. I miss being able to leave the house and go play with friends. Nowadays I don't even know what's happened to most of my childhood friends. Some have already moved on with their lives and others are stuck in * * * * ty situations (most likely worse than me). Nowadays it seems as if people don't really use their cellphones for anything but just sending digital messages and taking snapshots of each other looking goofy... what happened to picking up the phone and TALKING to your friends? I understand that technology continues to improve, but that doesn't mean today's technology isn't flawed! In fact, most modern technology I've seen around was meant for a throwaway society. We already had enough ways to entertain ourselves by the end of the 20th century (of course, this is my opinion, but I feel it was the perfect way to balance between the pleasure of living life and the convenience of using technology to obtain information that is not locally available).

So there you are… this is the story of my life’s addiction to the Internet. I am hoping that I can break free from this addiction by seeking out better and more interesting alternatives, one at a time. It won’t be an easy battle, I know it. I have stopped paying for Internet at home so we’ll see. I want to LIVE WITHOUT THE INTERNET!

Anyway, thanks for reading all this! If there's anything you'd like to say then feel free to do so.

Interesting...good luck with your kicking the habit, as it were...but in the Internet's defense, it allows people like myself, who live in very rural areas and simply don't have the gas or time to be visiting friends, to connect with others online at all hours of the day or not, as well as have access to a plethora of information.

For example, I live in a tsunami danger zone, but I don't have access to television right now, nor do I listen to the radio. So how did I know a tsunami was heading my way the other night? The Internet.

My boyfriend is a man whom I love very much, who makes me happy and makes me feel beautiful. I went to Canada to meet him a while back, and had the adventure of a lifetime, my first time out of the country. I'd never have met him if it weren't for the Internet, and would have been deprived of what are truly some of the most wonderful memories of my life so far.

I have even taken college classes via the Internet, which would not have been possible just 15 or 20 years ago.

Everything in moderation, that's the key to life.

Thankfully, at least I never got into MMORPGs or any other online game services. I mainly emulated.

That's pity, I think. Because I, too, were addicted, however to computer games that I could play over the internet, not the internet itself. At age of 22 I was sick of it and got me a job, for another 4 years I've been working and living somewhat a 'social life'. But I didn't enjoy that much and was coming back to gaming often. The moment I realized that the life is just another mmorpg to play, the whole world turned upside down and since then life's nothing, but loads of fun. Now the internet is a source of knowledge for me. Without it, I'd rotten to mediocrity in this sh*thole.

The interenet is just a tool, and as the saying goes, ''it's not the tool, but what you do with it, baby''

I have also came to the conclusion that my lifestyle is currently unhealthy due to the internet. I have just recently posted something like this on facebook.

"Ive been debating for some time now whether to shut down facebook and have less computer time in my life. Yes, Im an Internet and Computer addict. Ive been "online" since 1995. My first internet experience was through AOL dial up and going into social chat rooms and wasting hours sitting there cyber-socializing.

I am also an addict when it comes to internet gaming, like some of you guys playing COD etc.. well i can play a video game online for 10 hours a day, which ive done a lot of recently and the past 10 years.

The reason why Im bringing this topic up, is because I have been on self-spectate mode recently. I have been evaluating my social behavior and lifestyle and compared it to what i remembered back in the 90's when I didnt have a computer. Im less social, I only talk more when Im drunk, I have no patience, and the most important thing is that I am losing the ability to carry a conversation without saying "um" or "like"."

I definitely know where your'e coming from, and I am also in the same boat. Good luck on the recovery!

Don't get me wrong, I love the information the Internet delivers. But it can hurt your social life, your relationship, and your physical lifestyle!

Well good luck man! I always wonder about the kids today. When I was younger the internet was really coming to be. We all had aol dial up, web pages were terrible and computers were slow. I was lucky to grow up hanging out in the mall, playing sports, playing video games with friends cause they came over to my house. I did, and still do, from time to time play mmos but they were always secondary, not my primary focus.

I dunno. I love computers, heck I'm a computer programmer... but I take a lot of pleasure in being social too. I definitely think the internet has changed the aspect of our being social... and not for the better. Good luck though. Your goals sound easy to achieve. Set out and get em!

This is awesome! Good for you. You've identified the problem and come up with a tangible solution.

My only advice to you is to leave this forum immediately. It can be highly addictive.

I think this is all too common nowadays with not just computers but devices that can hook up to the internet so easily.

I used to game a lot in the late 90's to early 2000 heavily involved in gaming leagues. I had to quit though, it was becoming too much.

In fact in our home we unplugged the computer last week. The first few days was just awkward, not being able to check email and forums often as both my wife and I run a business so constantly updating and checking for email was the norm.

We of course realized within few days after it was SO much better. People without computer would think WELL DUH CAPTAIN OBVIOUS but it's just amazing how much time can be spent; even for few minutes of checking the email ends up being 30 minutes or more wasted.

It wouldn't be so much of a concern if say I was living alone but with a family it is very distracting. Our daughter hates it when we're on the computer; even for few minutes. So it was time to make a drastic change. Last night I had to plug it in to work on a video but that was it. It's nice to just cut off from the net and feel the need to 'check'. Computers and personal tech device is more of a distraction creator than anything. I don't think it's meant to improve our lives in most cases.

So try unplugging for few days. It's a good thing. For most of us it's not a necessity at home IMO. It just gives us excuse to stay at home and waste time.

I'll just have my net fix during the day away from home.