> Are you Internet dependent? I scoffed at the headline, but I read the story anyway (perhaps in part because it's from a college newspaper that uses the same Web service we use, but that's beside the point).
>

Honestly, I never think too much about 'internet dependency' or 'televison addiction' or what the root thing being blamed is. The problem isn't necesarily inherent in the thing itself, it's in the people using whatever-it-is to excess. We (speaking of people in general) don't seem to have much self-control anymore.

To use myself as an example - I'll disconnect my computer from the internet sometimes when I have a project due, but that almost never actually HELPS. I'll just go waste time some OTHER way, internet distraction or no, until I work up the motivation (or sufficient panic) to do it. The problem isn't inherent in the internet or the television or whatever, it's inherent in me and my sucky time-management/concentration skills. If that makes sense.

Of course, there are those who are genuinely addicted to some things, but by and large I think the real issue is a self-control problem. I freely admit that I have that trait in regards to several parts of my life, although I don't like it and am working to fix it. But I refuse to blame that fault in myself on other things. If I spend an hour wasting time online, it's not the Internet's fault for being there - it's my own, for not having the self-control to do whatever else I should be doing.

A good dose of self-control. That would do a lot of people, including me, a whole lot of good.

Sosiqui