I use the Internet several times a day, even on my days off. I get nervous if I go without it for even a few hours. 

The same is true of electricity and indoor plumbing. 

Does that make me an Internet addict (or an electricity addict, or indoor plumbing addict)? No, it just means I live in the developed world in the 21st Century.

Matt Cutts of Google went a week without using the Internet recently. 

Whew! I guess I don't have to go to GA - Gigabytes Anonymous. It is such a part of our day to day lives that it is hard to find the line of addiction with this (if there is one).

The other day, I watched a kid (probably 6 or 7) explaining how easy it is to download, adjust, email and share photos. It was cool to watch the patience and thorough flow of "and then you do this"

Steve, 

Yes, the app would definitely help you. Did you check out the link I sent to Paul? 

I don't believe that spending too much time with technology, or in front of the screen can be translated as addiction. It's simply a sign of the natural evolution of our society. The word addiction doesn't fit here. All of us work with technology in one way or another; it means we have a need, instead of an addiction. Or should we think of Internet Evolution as an addiction to which we all here are addicted? Hmm 

As things are evolving, and kindergarteners are already using iPads for learning their first words just to continue using technology in their future school years, and later on in their careers, we can't talk about an addiction. Honestly, Steve, now that I think about it, talking about an addiction sounds a bit narrowminded, and shows lack of knowledge and understanding of what it is really going on in the world. 

So no, I don't believe you are addicted to the Internet. You use it for your work, for all your communications, and for everything else as more and more uses for it are being found. The use of the Internet and technology falls in the category of things we need today, instead of things to which we are addicted. 

-Susan 

Thanks, Paul. I used to do the same you do, setting times for breaks and ignoring the alarms, even though it doesn't make any sense, right? It's like cheating yourself. :D

You have 15 secs to finish what you are doing before the screen goes completely dark. With the Coffee Break app you can click on the circle where the coffee cup is, where you have the option to choose between 5, 10 or 15 min to delay your break or cancel it until the next one. I find the app very thoughtful. Also, you can choose to have the app on or off just by clicking on the little coffee cup on your tool bar. 

There is another app where you can't do anything about the screen when it darkerns, though, you just have to take your break. 

-Susan

susan - i figured there would be an app like this and really like it. Looking around me, I see (that belong to me) : a desktop computer, a laptop, an iPhone, an iPad - all are powered up, ready to send and receive. And such an app would clearly help my ever weakening eyesight.

Am I addicted? Ummm, yes. But my friends spend more time with technology than I -- really, it's true. Really!!!

Thanks Susan. I believe the Coffee app is an app that I really do need. I particulaarly like the idea of the screen going dark. At least that is a very novel way to technological force the user to go for break. There are times I set times for breaks only for me to ignore the alarms when prompted. Fot the Coffee app, is there a way the user can override the dark screen when the s/he is been prompted?

I am glad to know that both the Coffee app and the eye drops are helping to relieve your eye strain. 

Hey, Paul 

The Coffee Break app is one of the best little apps ever. It sits in your menu bar and really helps you and your eyes to take a break when you spend many hours on your computer. I believe it also helps you to become more efficient in your work as you renew your attention span every hour or 45 minutes, it's up to you. You can select the time of your breaks according to your needs, choosing from 5 sec to 90 min break; you can plan different coffee breaks during your day, and make them last for 5 sec to 60 min. You can add a reminder about what you plan to do in that particular coffee break.

The app has a countdown timer that will warn you when there is 15 min left for the break to start, it will darken your screen, and you will only see a cup of coffee and the minutes remaining. :D

When your coffee break is over you hear the countdown again alerting you it's time to go back to work, and your screen will brighten. I find this very useful. I have also found it interesting that I have started to learn what I can do in 5 min or 15 secs. Now I can have productive coffee breaks, too, if I don't feel like having coffee or tea or something. I have done little things like watering my little plant in 15 secs. I have noticed these little breaks are helping my eyes, which was the main reason why I started looking for these apps. I have tested many of them now. :) 

So, basically, that is how it works. And believe me, it really helps you. 

My eye strain was quite bad and very painful. (Thanks for asking) I had to take a serious break from the computer for some days, then limit my social media activity (not that I missed much, though) and everything that was not strictly necessary. The Coffee Break app and eye drops helped a lot. 

-Susan 

Great distinction, Nicole, on use and addiction. 

Are we addicted because we use the phone (whether smart or traditional)?  The reality today, as you point out, is that it is a mainline channel for communicating.  The earlier uses of the web were exploratory and optional in nature.

The distinction would be if we could not resist the use of the internet in our own freedom of time zone.  In most cases, we welcome the "down time" to reconnect, reframe, and become human again.

DHagar

Nicole, slfisher,

I think that there is a tremendous benefit is allowing that between the 'physical" addictions and "mental' addictions, there is a continuous spectrum. There is no reason to think that the existence of withdrawal symptoms make an avddiction harder to break than some that are purely psychological.

I find persoanlly that I have become habituated to a variety of things. Some are items that I would not have a physical withdrawal from, but would miss. Others are things like caffeine where, when I was drinking caffeinated coffee regularly, I would have headaches when abstaining. I had an easier time quitting caffinated coffee than I have had giving up watching TV - and no-one would claim that I was addicted, but there were certainly negative consequences to spending 2-3 hours a day with my mind turned off, completely sedentary.

PS. slfisher; dalrymple's book was interesting, but to summarize, he claims that the reports of withdrawal from heroin are either based on accounts such as those of Coleridge that didn't distinguish alcohol withdrawal from opiate withdrawal, or self reported accounts by addicts who are seeking heroine or methadone following an arrest or hospitalization.

For the SNAD was a boojum, you see.