> I know I am not "Internet dependent". If my closest friends, whom I keep in contact with through this site, lived nearby, I am 100% sure I would use the Internet maybe once every couple of months when there was something I particularly wanted to know or see -- the same way I use my television. Since they don't live nearby, the Internet has no comparison as the best and cheapest way to talk to them.

Agreed. It is convenient, and I've met amazing people, with whom I would never have had the chance to interact without the Net. As well, for me personally, it's allowed closer contact with people from "real life" - extended family members who, because of changes in time zones and geographic distance, it was difficult to contact in the past. Professionally for me, living in a relatively isolated area of Canada, it's been a great equalizer for both me and my students. Resources that were difficult to access are now available with the click of a mouse.

Dependence is such a pejorative word. It suggests you *need* to have something, as opposed to simply use something regularly, as you would any good tool.

I'd give it the old "rocking chair test": If, when you are eighty years old, and rocking in your rocking chair on your front porch, you will look back and regret the wasted time, it's time to cut back. If, on the other hand, you're likely to reflect on the wonderful friends you've made, the fun you've had, and the knowledge you've managed to attain, you're proably fine.

te "can stop any time she wants to. Really." ach