ARE YOU A COMPUTER ADDICT???

            You feel empty when you are not surfing the Net.You wake up early or stay up late working on the computer. You believe your best friends are those whom you met only online.
            These are all symptoms of a new form of addictionthat has emerged only in recent yaers– COMPUTER ADDICTION. 
 
CAN’T JUST STOP
            The definition of computer addiction is quite fuzzy because the term covers a wide range of addictions. But most experts agree that when you use computer so often that you can’t already do your other activities, and if you unable to stop using the computer despite negative consequences, you are already a COMPUTER ADDICT.

There are those people who are literally addicted to the computer as a physical object. They become addicted to activities performed on the computer, like instant messaging, playing online games, chacking the e-mail, and reading blogs or posts on newsgroups. These activities are collectively referred to as COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION (CMC). On the other hand, computer addiction focused on Internet use is often called INTERNET ADDICTION DISORDER (IAD).

SYPTOMS

As with any addiction, there are also signs in computer addiction. Here is a list of signs and symptoms of computer addiction. Here are the symptoms you have to watch for:

1. You use computer for pleasure, gratification, or relief from stress.
2. You feel irritable and out of control or depressed when you’re not using the computer.
3. You spend increasing amounts of time and money on hardware, software, magazines, and computer-related activities.
4. You neglect work, school, or family obligations.
5. You lie about the amount of time you spent on computer activities.
6. You fail to control your computer use, even if you have tried so many times already.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS

Excessive computer use affects your social, emotional, and physical, well-being. As you spend more and more time on the computer, you spend less and less time for your family and friends, thus relationship begun to suffer.

Using a mouse and a keyboard for many hours everyday may lead to repetitive stress injuries. Sitting at computer desks for a long time causes back problems. Late-night computer sessions cut into sleep time, leading to sleep deprivation.

Someone who spends hours at a computer is obviously not getting any excercise, so computer addiction can indirectly lead to poor overall physical condition and even obesity.

PREVENTIVE TIPS

If you want to get “rehabilitated,” here are some helpful tips:

1. make specific time limits. Set an alarm to go off in 1 hour and end computer time when it rings.
2. Set aside “computer-free” parts of the day. If your computer use starts after dinner and extends into the night, get all computer work done in the morning; don’t touch your computer after dinner.
3. Install software to restrict your access to websites that you visit compulsively. Find a friend that you can trust to keep the passwords for the software so you can circumvent it.
4. Make a list of things you could be accomplishing instead of wasting time on the computer, and post it prominently near your monitor.
5. Enlist family members to help encourage you to limit your use. It might be difficult to stop on your own.
6. Put the computer in high-traffic area of the house. With others looking over your shoulder all the time, you’ll be less likely to overuse the computer. This is especially effective for parents who fear excessive computer use in their children.