Internet addiction?
Good question!
So called “internet addiction is a new and growing problem impacting on modern life. “Internetting” can be addictive in a few ways:
1. Whether you prefer to think of it as “addiction” or simply as operant conditioning, certain types of internet activity can become powerful compulsions very quickly. As with gambling and other compulsive disorders, once established, this behavior is driven by neurochemical changes and may be quite challenging to alter.
2. You lose your sense of time. Often, I will begin a task on the internet which I casually assume will take five or ten minutes . . . but then I find that two hours has gone with only a vague awareness of the passage of time. I don’t know if that is a “flow experience” or not, but in the context I am using it here, there is definitely a dark side to it.
3. In line with the above, this “flow experience” may be inherently positively reinforcing, which complicates the addictive nature of the process. Nothing wrong, I suppose with positively reinforcing experience, IF that produce positive results. However, if such experiences just suck you into using buckets of time you would rather have been spending on something else, and then you end up“downing yourself for, then obviously there is a problem.
Back to REBT:
Do I smell just a teensy, tiny hidden “must” there???
If they make a decision to get involved with an internet venue, they can just make a decision to stop the behavior
Could you be saying; If I make a decision to get involved with something, I ought to be able to just make a decision to stop the behavior” ?
I do this a lot. I get depressed, and then berate myself for getting depressed because smart, REBT guys shouldn’t get depressed, or should be able to snap out of it by wiggling our dear little noses. Ironically, when I catch this, I do immediately begin to feel a lot better, and without heroic disputing and replacing as the distortion is so obviously distorted, and the rational replacement is so obviously apparent.
Deal with your musts, explicit or hidden, in all of their variations, as well as self-downing for your inability to do as you must, and you can free up energy that may allow you to deal more effectively and successfully with time management and procrastination.
Cheers
Rex
Khon Kaen,Thailand
How comfortable are you with how you use the Internet? What techniques, if any, do you use to manage your online time? Please join the discussion below. Your views are important and we LOVE hearing from you. |
How useful was this post?
Click on a star to rate it!
Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 4
No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.
Originally posted 2013-04-17 06:48:45.
Contact: Rex@REBTinfo.com
- How to deal with your past errors? - Thu 14 Nov 24
- Whine!Whine! Whine! - Thu 14 Nov 24
Tags: addictions, compulsions, internet, internet addiction, time management
Search this site
Sticky Posts
Regular Columns & Features
Recent Comments
Categories
USEFUL LINKS
Amazon Associate Member
Rex Alexander and REBT Info are participants in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Disclosure
When you buy items using the links on this website, we may get a small commission which keeps me in coffee, which keeps me working, which keeps me providing valuable content for you. Thank you for your continuing support of REBT Info.com. ~Rex
TOS / Terms of Service
Pretty basic stuff: No fussing, no fighting, no cussing, no spamming, no scamming, no blaming, no flaming, no hating, no bating, no trolling, no personal attacks. No pornography (Damn!). The Golden Rule applies. Focus on issues, ideas and principles rather than on personalities and you will fit right in. Please keep your contributions friendly and polite, treat your fellow members and readers with respect and all will be well.
All content and information submitted become the property of REBT Info (REBTinfo.com)
Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
We at REBT Info value your privacy. Your personal information is secure with us. Secure server software (SSL) encrypts all information you enter before it is sent to us, and all of the customer data we collect is protected against unauthorized access.
We WILL NOT sell, rent, distribute or otherwise share your personal information, including e-mail address, to or with anyone for any reason (except in the extremely rare, unlikely case of demands by duly authorized law enforcement acting strictly in accord with due process).
For more information, please read the long version
Copyright
Copyright © 2012-2024 by Rex Alexander dba REBT Info / http://REBTinfo.com.
All rights reserved. The content of this website or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.Disclaimer
This website, REBTinfo.com, and others under the REBT Info family are for education, information and entertainment purposes only; are not intended as, nor should be regarded as medical or psychiatric diagnosis, advice or treatment.
By accessing this blog you understand and agree to these conditions, as well as to the other Terms of Service / TOS posted, and which may be updated and amended from time-to-time.
Agreement
By accessing this website blog and related media, you affirm that you have read, understand and agree to our Terms of Service / TOS which may be updated and amended from time-to-time.
This is a public blog
Anything you post may be viewed by the public. Therefore, do not post anything you wish to remain private.