Addicted to the internet? Or the basic necessity of life?
Posted on August 7, 2017 • 3 min read • 628 words
Am I addicted to the internet? I don’t believe it. I use it for everything, I could hardly live without it. If you look at it that way, I’m addicted to the internet. Anyway, then I am also addicted to oxygen, food and drink.
We can no longer do without the internet for many things. Without internet, life comes to a standstill. At least for me. No access to the internet means that I can no longer do a lot of things and that I no longer know anything about a lot of things.
You could very quickly conclude that I am addicted. I’m pretty inseparable from my laptop or iPad, at least when we’re at home. But that’s not surprising at all. We don’t have a newspaper, but read the news on the internet. From different sources of course, because everyone has their own agenda. News sites where I can regularly be found are NU.nl , Blendle , Telegraaf , Trouw and the Financieel Dagblad . I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few. And since I hardly use ad blockers use, I also stay informed about what is for sale.
We also do everything that has to do with TV and radio via the internet. When the TV is on, 99 times out of 100 it is because we are watching something via the internet: Netflix, YouTube or Uitzending Gemist. That one time we still watch TV, because then the program is not available on Uitzending Gemist. I even make calls and work via the internet. When I work from home for a day, I check my e-mail and do my work via the internet.
And do we still have to talk about knowledge? You know, that thing that was ’early’ in that one and a half meters on top of the bookcase? That’s right, the encyclopedia. And the bird books. And Bosatlas. We don’t have those anymore either. We use Wikipedia and related articles for our knowledge. This saves time and effort.
So it is clear that we use the internet a lot.
Fault
There is definitely a downside to doing everything over the internet. If there is a problem, you cannot do much. Feel free to say almost nothing. You remain deprived of all news and information. You can’t go to work, but even worse, you can’t even call 112 if you’re unlucky, because that too goes over the internet backbone. That’s scary. Imagine that one of your loved ones or friends needs help and you cannot reach out for help. I would feel completely powerless.
Realize
I think it is good to realize that more and more is done via the internet. And that this can fail, just like electricity. If you take this into account, it doesn’t have to be a problem. For example, know your neighbors so that you can rely on each other.
Realize that the dividing line between beneficial use and addiction is a very thin line. If you spend hours and hours idly reading Facebook or tending your farm on Farmville, you have to realize that there is a lot going on outside, such as BBQ, sports, going out, the movies, and so on.
You don’t have to use the internet to arrange certain things, but it certainly won’t be easy.
Really addicted
Although I believe that the internet is becoming a basic necessity of life, I also know that there are actually people who cannot keep up with the internet. That education, work and even relationships suffer from always being on the internet, escaping the real world.
Do you think you, or someone close to you, is addicted to the Internet? Take the test on [Jellinek]( https://www.jellinek.nl/test-uw-kennis-of-util/test-uw-utility/test-uw-internet Behavior/). Seek help for yourself or the other person.
