Netaholics Anonymous

• Internet Usage In the Workplace by Chris Stevens, 8/30/98
  
  

Chris:

My name is Rich and I am a Netaholic. I'm not one of you professional or aspiring headshrinker guys, I'm one of the "shrunkees." And I'm posting this, Chris, because I want you know that the reasons people become addicted to the net are much more serious and complex than simply boredom or stress.

A few month ago I as spending WAY TOO MUCH time diving into the Web -- at home into the wee hours & on-line at work when I should have been getting my load of coal out of the mine. I realized what I was doing was not good, but I seemed unable to stop. This only made me feel more and more guilty, ashamed, anxious, etc. -- all those good things self-destructive behavior generates.

Then one day I dove into the Web and bumped into a site dedicated to "recovering netaholics." This site linked to several other similar sites. If I remember correctly, the behavior you described (and in which I specialized) was described as "obsessive-compulsive." This is undoubtedly old news to all the degree-heavy dudes who frequent this site, but I'm posting this so you know that a Yahoo search on this topic should uncover at least a half-dozen sites on the topic you're reasearching.

That's it for me. I've got to move on to the next URL. Good luck on your paper, and -- to paraphrase Lawrence Olivier in "Marathon Man" -- being a student while you can. It's the last time in your life no one will expect anything of you... ;)

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