I am a Cyber Junkie by
Heike Boehnke-Sharp
It is 3:34 am and I am staring at my new
best friend. My computer.
My cyber presence has taken on a life of its own. I spend hours
with my best friend, and thank God for unlimited Internet access! We do business together,
research, design websites, send mail, and much more, for many hours a day.
When both my husband and daughter
complained about my excessive computer time, I had to step back and look at my behavior.
Is there a “Cyber Addicted Anonymous”? I had to start by reducing my hours like
a smoker does his or her cigarettes; only there is no Nicorette gum or patch to help me
through. I found myself not being able to concentrate on reading or anything else, because
I knew my friend was waiting for me to tell me ‘YOU GOT MAIL”.
While on the Net, I entered another world,
with new friends all around the globe. Being thousands of miles from my homeland, the
thought of seeing German email just thrilled me! I was making more new Cyber friends than
real human friends. Problem was, it is just not as much fun to type as it is to chat over
a cup of coffee!
Ah….and the discussions. There are so
many wonderful message boards and chat rooms. So many “taboo” topics being
discussed, that people will shush when you are at a party, as they are not politically
correct. The anonymousity of the Internet makes people free! They feel they can speak
their mind freely, attack you, insult you, and throw stupid anecdotes at you
because…well, because what is written is said, and all you can do is write back. So I
found myself arguing for hours with people who clearly did not have a clue what they were
talking about. I found myself itching to see
what my fiends had to say to me, and sent my rebuttal!
Some discussions were enriching and eye
opening, but very few. Part of my “program” was to delete all these message
boards from my favorite places. I actually put a “parental block” on my server
so it would be too much trouble for me to find new ones. OMG! All of sudden I had HOURS of
extra time on my hands! Now only a few selected business lists make it through, and only
in Digest version.
I am home-based, so the computer is an
essential part of my business and work. That was my excuse when my monitor blew one
morning, and I almost went in my jammies to the nearest computer store to buy a new one!
There was not thought about expense, budget, or anything else, only that I had no access
to my best friend. When I came home like a wild women, hooked up my new, better, BIGGER,
Cadillac monitor and sighed at the flicker of the light, my husband looked at me like I
was crazy. “I can deduct it from the tax” were
my last works before I hit the Internet again.
I am proud to say I have cut back my
computer hours and am in control!
Ok…. sometimes I relapse and
steal away to my office at 3:00 am so I can spend time with my best friend without feeling
guilty…Rome was not built in a day either! |
