Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Response On "Social Media Withdrawal"



My life in a nustshell.



OK, OK I'll admit it: I am hands down, without a doubt addicted to the Internet. I haphazardly realized this the other day when I ran into a group of friends on campus.

"Hey Ali, what's up?" My friend asked.
"Oh, you know. Same old, same old," I said as I rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands.
"You ok?" He asked. "You just smeared mascara all over your face."
"Yeah, yeah," I assured him. "I've just been starring at a computer screen for four hours straight. My brain just hurts. That's all."
He gave me a quisitive look. "Sure... Do you want to grab some food with us?"
"Oh no. I got to go check my e-mail. It's been 20 minutes," I anxiously replied before darting off to the computer lab to get my fix. I didn't feel good about myself; I felt ashamed.

My addiction to the internet, social media, my iPod, my cellphone and television was further made evident after I read Jill Laster's article, "Students Denied Social Media Go Through Withdrawal."

I recognized myself in the student who writes that texting gives him or her "a constant feeling of comfort"; I recognized myself in the students who showed "symptoms" of "misery" and "anxiety" after being denied the internet for 24 hours in a study conducted by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda.

The amount of time it took me to write this very blog post adheres to my addiction to all things media. Between writing these words, I had to check my e-mail once, my Twitter once, my Facebook twice, send a text and change the playlist on my iPod.

Is an addiction to media formats a curse or merely an exercise in socialization? Should I seek help? Or am I just a computer geek?

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