Always have your cell phone with you? Can't get enough of your iPod? Online for five hours while doing homework? Admit it; nearly all teens have some form of technology addiction. In this day and age, almost everything is sent by e-mail on a blackberry or through a message on MySpace. The sudden rise in technology addiction is just one more result of the worlds' teens and working classes impatience to wait just one second for an e-mail, phone call, or text message.
MySpace and Facebook are two of the many websites teens can't get enough of these days. Myspace addiction is real. No one ever thinks that he or she might be addicted to something as innocent as MySpace. Wake up and smell the coffee because it is a real dilemma. If you are having trouble distinguishing between normal computer use and addiction, here are some tips to help you find out:
1. First, admit you have a problem. This may be hard, but accepting that MySpace has taken over your life is an important step to overcoming your addiction.
2. Second, stop communicating with people through MySpace and correspond with only those you know, as fellow addicts only contribute to your problem. Try other ways of communicating, like by phone, an instant messenger program like AIM, e-mail, or even just chatting outside the technology world.
3. Post several bulletins announcing that you will be no longer available on MySpace. Delete your main pictures, blogs, comments, etc.
4. Find other creative activities to do. Try to find ones that both amuse you in the short-term and benefit you in the long-term.
5. Keep in contact with your friends daily.
6. After waiting a good month and re-establishing your life, go back and delete your MySpace.
7. Never go back to MySpace, as it will possibly trigger a relapse into the addiction.
If you know for a fact you are addicted to the Internet then here are some tips to help you kick the habit:
1. Find more valuable activities to fill your time.
2. If MySpace is your homepage, change it to something like Google or Yahoo.
3. If your real-life friends use MySpace in front of you, tell them you are trying to stay away form it and ask that they do not get on while you are around. Remember, real friends don't let friends be MySpace Addicts.
WARNING!: MySpace addictions are serious matters and should not be taken lightly. If you or someone you know is addicted to MySpace, please get them the help they need immediately.
There's this really interesting thing called, "phantom ringing" that occurs with cell phone addicts. After being on their cell phones for hours in day, a familiar ringing strangely resembling his/her ring tone starts to buzz in the ear. But opening the cell phone, one comes to find out that a call was never there. That my friend, was a common case of phantom ringing. It is still unknown exactly why that happens, but I know for me, it happens more often than I'd like . . . especially in school.
Cell phones and blackberries, or crackberries as they have been recently pegged, are the latest trend in America. Almost too much of a trend, since many accidents and deaths have resulted from texting while driving, also know as short message service, SMS. Text-messaging addiction is another deadly addiction that has many states banning the use of cell phone while driving entirely. But this is not the first time we've heard about texting addictions. Many people can already tell that texting and texting while driving will be an issue we deal with for many years to come.
Many people who are addicted never get caught or treated and endure a life of nothingness and restless nights, but for those who want help can go to a government clinic for Internet Addiction that was opened in March of 2005 at the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital in People's Republic of China in order to treat youths between the ages of 14 and 24, who suffer from anxiety, depression, and lack of sleep often due to long hours of online gaming and chats.
So if you have ever felt like you're online for extended periods of time, or that you check your MySpace one too many times, or text while you drive, you may very well be addicted. As mentioned before, Internet and Technological Addictions are very serious and dangerous matters. Look for help with your problem or just use the tips stated above to help you kick the addiction. Remember, it's still not too late, but your life -- and grades -- will thank you for making this addiction in the past.
*Maglina was here*
