Computer Addiction or Just Modern Life? Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Tuesday February 14, @10:29PM Ant writes to tell us that ABC News has an interesting look at computer addiction and what it might take to be considered addicted in today's society. From the article: "Video games and the Internet have been subject to suspicion since the computer became a household fixture. One complaint: People get sucked into spending enormous amounts of time on the computer, to the detriment of other parts of their life. But are they addicted? The answer depends on what you mean by 'addicted.' Most experts say computers are not addictive in the same sense that drugs are, but they could be on the same level as gambling."
The world becomes smaller through the internet. Loads of information are waiting to be found. Either that, or publish your own. The internet has truly helped with communication. Sending documents, pictures, and other data is no problem with the help of e-mail, file sharing and the like. These are all happening in the virtual world, but the social aspects are very real. I guess this is why "computer addiction" is somewhat like gambling. We put in some time and hope to gain even a little from it in any aspect, but mostly socially. Unfortunately, it is difficult to call virtual communities communities. Although there may be discussions, actions or movements of individuals or groups in the community, one can always opt to "quit" the community temporarily or forever. Also, communities can get too large and quickly change in number that makes it hard to recognize individuals. In online or networked games, one can be part of a guild or clan. One may have started it, be invited into it, or requested for membership. But if one decides to stop being a member, one can just press a button and quit the group. The same goes with forums and lists. One can choose to participate, lie low, or just leech information. With all these movements and instability in the virtual world, it cannot be helped that it becomes fragmented. And with this fragmented world comes a fragmented individual. Thinking again, rarely are people able to self-actualize themselves in the greater scheme, but are often able to in smaller social groups. And sometimes, that's all that matters because in these groups are those people that truly matter to them.