Editorial: Are You Addicted to the Computer?

I’m just throwing this out there, because I wonder about it more all the time. Is the average adult addicted to the computer?

Answer these questions:

1. After waking up, possibly using the restroom and making coffee (if you have yet another addiction like me), do you go to your computer, PDA, tablet, etc., and check your e-mail?

2. Can you go all day without getting on a computer or other similar handheld device?

3. If something happens in your life, happy or sad, do you get not a dozen but hundreds of e-mails from unknown and never met people telling you they’re sorry/glad/elated/you rock?

4. Do you have multiple e-mail accounts with different names and passwords for different reason, switching back and forth between them on any given day?

5. If you go on vacation and forget to go no mail, do you come back to several thousand unanswered missives in your inbox?

6. If your computer goes on the fritz, do you panic, not knowing what to do and immediately call your computer company or the closest computer guru?

If you have answered yes to most or a majority of these, you, like I, are wondering about your mental stability. I have a way of rationalizing my disease in that for now I live alone and it’s company. Besides, I’m a writer, and all my contacts and valuable information is there. I do write most of the day, so it’s not interfering with my daily activities.

But when does too much computer and not enough life mean you have been taken captive by our mechanized age?

Here is the definition from Wikipedia, and yes, anything there needs to be questioned, but read it and consider. I’d love to hear your comments.

Computer addiction, a loosely used term with Internet Addiction, or Video game addiction, is the excessive or compulsive use of computers to the extent that it interferes with daily life. This disorder may affect the following: social interaction, mood, personality, work ethic, relationships, thought process. It may also cause social disorders or possibly sleep deprivation. It is important to note that as of now, psychologists are not sure how to label this disorder. Many refer to it as Internet Addiction Disorder; however, computer addiction originated long before internet use is as common as it is today. In addition, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has yet to recognize this exact disorder, and are more likely to include a more specific term of addiction, such as Internet Addiction, or Video game addiction.