[cifani090]

Quote:

To be honest I think the "get a hobby" is an awefull idea in terms of a solution in of itself.  Though you do have to fill your time that you aren't spending on the internet otherwise I would think the 'addiction' would come back.  Many addictions cause anxiety when you don't perform certain actions (browsing the internet for instance and not being able to resist checking for hours probably means you have a form of OCD).  I would read up on such a disorder and se if you think it fits what you are describing.  As far as i'm concerned what you have written screams OCD to me.
 
I suggest trying to cut your time down and when you do fill the nigle of wanting to check, simply sit down do nothing and let for that fell of need to subside (anything you do including saying it s okay as I shgall check it later will nullify this process so try and avoid such traps).  You do want to do this in a graded way and it is not what you want to be doing forever, as eventually you should start doing what you enjoy whilst using the internet in a healthier fashion.
 
Like everything, health is also important.  That means eating healthy and exercise are a must to help avoid addictive and sloathe like behaviour.
 
Just my two cents, which largely assumes you have some form of anxiety disorder that has developed around your addiction of sorts.

x2, at the start of July i joined a gym. Since them i have lost about 17 pounds. Im very proud of myself and it gets my out of the house for 2-4 hours and than im doing homework, working, cleaning, tv, or internet life.
 
Quote:

I have to admit that Internet shopping can be addicting. I love it and it's a guilty pleasure. However, I mostly buy stuff that's actually useful. I rarely buy clothes though.  My addiction is Amazon and eBay. Those are the probably the 2 greatest sites for general merchandise. 
 
I read an opinion article somewhere that one of the dangers of an iPad for college students is that it can be distracting. Perhaps. Ya gotta love Angry Birds though.

I could totally see myself here as well. Bidding an winning
 

 

[Apalachian77]

It's common for sure. I wish I spent less time but sometimes it's just the easiest thing to do since it's right in front of you. Don't worry about cancer, I mean don't smoke, but seriously, everything gives you cancer according to one study or another.

 

[fabio-fi]

Hey man, you need a girlfriend. Thats the only solution. 

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Hey man, you need a girlfriend. Thats the only solution.

Not if your gf is just as addicted to the net as you are. They are often more addicted to it than I am. I end up helping them... Like I said, facebook is evil.

 

[blackbird]

Yeah, I don't think a girlfriend will help.

 

[koolkat]

Just get one first. 

 

[loremipsum]

I just embrace it. Real life has always been uneventful and disappointing, since before I discovered the internet.

 

[sferic]

Quote:

I just embrace it. Real life has always been uneventful and disappointing, since before I discovered the internet.

Honestly loremipsum speaks the truth.
 
When you find something that motivates you, involves you, interests you. Go for it. There are substances, drugs, that mimic neurotransmitters, etc. that are dangerous. But anything else is real life. I don't buy all these "new" addictions - sex addiction, internet addiction etc.
 
12 step, and addiction methodology were built around substance addiction, and it's been very helpful for that. But generalizing it to normal but perhaps extreme behavior is wrong. Now, I'm not saying you don't have obsessive compulsive disorder. But on the other hand, that comes hand in hand with being male (if that's what your are, sorry if you're female didn't read the entire thread.)
 
You'll get over it all too soon. By definition, if you're on Head-Fi you're somewhat obsessive about sound & music. But I'd say still at the high end of normal. If you can't hold a job or maintain a relationship because of your interest in Headphones or the internet, then you need help to reel you in back to the range of normal.
 
Indulge yourself until you get bored with the internet. Then get obsessed with RC Helicopters or whatever next catches your fancy. What if Einstein had worried he was addicted to mathematics & physics? That's how guys roll. How guys are rolled.
 
Why are people always fighting themselves?

 

[feNcheL]

^ No offence, but I don't think you have ever been addicted to the internet. Indulge yourself until you become bored with the internet? That'll never happen, especially not if you have some kind of OCD.
Actually, I guess the best way to go about it is the necessity of doing something else. A full-time job or exams would work (exams worked for me, I basically quit the internet for a month). Also of course hobbies, socializing, gym, healthy nutrition. But in the end, I believe only an all-or-nothing approach works. Meaning not a single minute of internet more than is necessary (e.g. checking the mail, bank transfers whatever). Don't even allow the thought of being on the net other than for necessary stuff enter your mind. Then find something to do in the time you have at hand. Quitting the internet frees up a lot of time haha.
Come to think of it, I should do that again, been spending way too much time on the internet lately..

 

[treal512]

That was very brave of you to post that on here, blackbird. I can relate as I too am addicted to internet browsing. It always seems like there is something to do on here, doesn't it? ...but then you find yourself refreshing your browser and going over the same old tracks... For me it started out as harmless LAN parties playing DOOM, then it became more competitive online FPSs like TFC, then I entered the MMORPG realm with DAoC and finally I somehow managed to drop games altogether. So where does that leave me now? Needing to fill another void and so came the all out internet browsing, reading, shopping, downloading, forum posting, etc. in much larger degrees. I don't have any answers for you, but I do think aknowledging and talking about the issue to people who matter is important.
 
With that said, I have some immediate advice for you that will help regardless.
Posture > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKltjeFlEJM
           > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQxFc-XVqFw

 

[Audio-Omega]

An outdoor hobby might help.  It would at least take you away from your computer.  I have been without internet ranging from a few months to over a year, and I didn't really miss it.  My mind was so much clearer without it.  Give it a try and you might like your new liberation from the matrix (internet).  

 

[grokit]

Hiking is healthy and free, and easy as walking around.

 

[koolkat]

Nothing we say is going to help the OP if he says "no".

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Hey man, you need a girlfriend. Thats the only solution.

That's a very Fabio thing to say 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I just embrace it. Real life has always been uneventful and disappointing, since before I discovered the internet.

I am 100% the same. I am addicted to the internet. I have been since 2007. Reason?
 
The internet is full of knowledge, meeting people internationally, videos, forums, and practically offers me an escape from boring old reality.
 
Everyone tells me to go outside more and do something else. Well outside bores me. the beach gets boring and i can only do that for 2 months of teh year. what the heck do they expect me to do in winter when it's -10. i am an inside internet computer geek who likes the internet and anime. ever since discovering the internet my personality has been formed around what i have learned and discovered. History, modern science, the news, new technology, and of course facebook which i use to spread my opinions on certain matters.
 
i have other reasons for being on the internet as well. my friends don't live near me anymore. most of my friends tend to be women who used to live in my town but do to me living in a small retirement town they moved away. they all left to persue college goals. i cannot afford to leave so i am stuck here ALONE. the internet allows me to keep in contact with my friends who i can't see anymore. i know many people here but i don't really consider them friends as i hardly know much about them.
 
i am not sure if kicking the habit is necassarily a good idea. if you just suddenly drop it you may feel depressed for a while.