Are We Hopelessly Hooked & Wired?

I woke up one Saturday morning in my sleeping shorts, with a hot cup of steamy coffee sprinkle with a slight dust of cinnamon and the Saturday's morning newspaper. I sat infront of my computer, cracked my stiff fingers, shifts my buttock to get the best seating posture possible and grabbed my trustworthy mouse. All prepared to connect to the world outside my window, i hit my Internet Explorer and waited for the page to load..

A second passed, two seconds, five seconds, nothing happened and when page finally load, the only thing that I could see was, "page failed to load". Panic stricken, I refresh the page countless times with the faint hope that the page would load successfully. Realising that it doesn't work, I check all my connection inside out. I stood fixed to the ground that I was standing when I realised that my modem was dead. The usually flickering of lights that would signal to me that I am connected to the outside world was silent. My whole world came crushing down. Several phone calls away to my service provider, (no help there !!) I soon realised that I am cut off from the rest of the world, I felt for a moment that the umbilical cord that connects me to the civilization out there has been suddenly severed without warning. I am alone !!

For the next few days, I was hopelessly lost. I stared blankly at my computer not knowing what to do with the piece of machinery. For a while the computer seems incomplete, a useless piece of machinery that does not serve any useful purpose. Are we so hopelessly hooked to the internet that without it our lives seems so hopeless? Are we part of the growing number of internet addicts? I rushed to the next available computer with an internet connection to it, my lifeline to the world outside.

As I do several times a day, I sat infront of my two computer screens (yeah believe it) with the knowledge that despite the countless documents from office that is crying for my attention and the endless school's assignment that needed to be done but for some reason I have to check my email, all four email accounts that I have, check my msn maybe someone left me a message and check channelnewsasia for any interesting new stories before I can begin my work. Even after I start working, I can easily be distracted by my television set or by a song playing on the radio that I must immediately download and while I’m downloading I will again check my email, msn, and channelnewsasia again to see if something have changed. Am I addicted to the internet or do I have the control to stop myself? In a world where we have access to so much at the touch of a keyboard we seem to constantly search for something whether it’s an email, a stock or a message on msn and yet we cannot stop. Is this addiction or is this normal? Is this normal or is this too much? Are we constantly on the internet because it is so accessible or is it so accessible because we want to be constantly on it? Would reading a newspaper ritualistically everyday during breakfast be more normal than checking the latest stories online? Has our world become so reliant on the internet that we cannot distinguish if we are addicted to the internet or not? What is internet addiction and how do we define it? Is internet addiction real or is it a fabrication?

Dr Jerald J Block, a psychiatrist describe internet addictions as a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder that involves online or offline computer usage and consists of at least three subtypes: excessive gaming, sexual preoccupations, and e-mail/text messaging. Someone suffering from internet addictions would exhibits any of the four behaviours;

• excessive use, often associated with a loss of sense of time or a neglect of basic drives,
• withdrawal, including feelings of anger, tension, and/or depression when the computer is inaccessible,
• tolerance, including the need for better computer equipment, more software, or more hours of use, and
• negative repercussions, including arguments, lying, poor achievement, social isolation, and fatigue.

The serious public health risks that exists from internet additions receive public attention after a series of 10 cardiopulmonary-related deaths in Internet cafés and a game-related murder in South Korea. On average the number of individuals that spends about 23 hours on the internet or computer each week has been increasing. The number of individuals that dropped out of school or stopped working to spend time with the computer has also caused concerns to many.

Aren't we being concerned of the inevitable? Modern lifes revolves around the computer and its technology. The past decade has seen the computer age influencing our daily lifes in an unprecedented way. Our social lifes has also increased around online social networking. We use the computer all the times, in our workplace, at home and in public places during our free time. We get stressed when a low battery stops us from messaging and would constantly buy new devices in a futile attempt to keep ourselves updated with the new technology.
The advent of internet age is unstoppable. We might not even be able to slow it at all as our life revolves and being influenced by it. However what we should do is to find a balance, an equilibrium in our life, striking a balance within the world wide web and the "world wide out there".

For me, I am resigned to the fate that I will still very much be dependent on the internet.