Internet addiction.

          Hi dears, I am sure by now everyone knows how inconsistent my posts here have become...I'm quite sorry and I am working on creating a balance between everything.
          Today's post springs from something I have found myself battling with recently and I would love to share my thoughts on the matter.
           I am undeniably an Internet addict, I mean a junkie who can't possibly survive a few hours (not to imagine a whole day) without Internet. This is sad and I am trying so desperately to uncling myself from this "frenemy". Overtime I have gone to the internet for information, knowledge and sometimes to learn new skills, I hate to be in the dark on any subject whatsoever and my inquisitiveness was satiated online, unfortunately I took it to the next level.
           I began looking for entertainment online, stuffs to buy, cloth styles even when I wasn't willing to purchase new clothes, room design ideas, jokes, memes, friends, succour, infact anything and everything. I gradually became dependent on my phone, this could be good as I have learnt a lot about peoples, places, things and general living but on the other side I have become increasingly unreasonable with my phone.       

        Whenever I am bored I prefer going on funny pages on instagram to alleviate that, I check my mails every hour on the hour sometimes impulsively, I keep refreshing my Facebook page even when I know there's nothing new. I do this when I am with other people and of course my real life friends complain about my new found addiction.
Before I continue let me point out the side effects of internet addiction
       #Insomnia: you begin to loose sleep or it appears you can't find sleep as easily as you used to and normally you begin to crave your phone again.
       #Headaches: I didn't need any expert to tell me that spending so much time with your phone or laptop would end up hurting your eyes (the lights) and this could give a real nasty headache as I have experienced a lot of times.
       #Social impairment: don't mind me I used that word for lack of a better one. What I mean is you withdraw farther into your phone and forget or ignore the people around you. You tend to play with your phone even in the middle of serious conversations with your friends or count the seconds till they "leave you the hell alone" so you can go back to your phone.
       #Distraction: you begin to get distracted easily, a little beep on your phone could disrupt a whole meeting for you because your focus immediately shifts to the phone.
        #Pornography: being online excessively exposes you to perverts and cyber sex. Some innocent friendship on Bbm could lead to sending nudes then to stupid homemade sex tapes. Links to porn sites you might get addicted on. I believe that an avid Internet person would have at been exposed to cyber sex at least once.
           Well having mentioned the down sides, is there hope for junkies like us? What can be done?
Keep an online journal, try writing or typing down how you feel when you are online. Happy, entertained etc just try to get an idea of how far gone you are, also write down how you feel without internet access.
                           *Always close tabs as soon as you are done with them, this is so you don't end up looking over the place trying to reread or revisit sites you were on before.
                           *Delete useless accounts. Those accounts you hardly use but still check for updates. Be bold enough and try getting off Facebook even if for a short while. Continue with this trend and try going off some other social media sites.
                           *Turn off notifications so you stop getting distracted all the time. Also set a timer for how long you are online, the alarm might not be enough to make you stop but is a silent reminder that you need to check it.
                            *Install applications that can block internet access and set it in motion while at work or with friends.
                            *Above all find new ways to entertain yourself, get busy with work, find new hobbies. I would recommend books because they give as much information. Surround yourself with friends.

I hope you have been able to gain something from this article. Please get back to me and let me know your rating. yeniquefunke@gmail.com