Solo Practice

The Dark Side of Technology: Internet Addiction

By The Greatest American Lawyer

We all know it?s there, the 800 lb. gorilla in the room.  People don?t like to talk about it.  People are afraid that if someone says something, their ability to go online for any and sometimes no reason at all might be affected.

In this article titled, ?Why moms are at risk for Internet addiction.? CNN.com

explores the growing phenomena when people have to be plugged into their computer screens in order to feel safe and secure.  While the articles focuses on moms, the same principles are certainly true for business.  That new client might send an email.  An existing client might have an emergency.  For god sake, we might miss something!

Our Blackberries stay on 24 by 7.  We step out into the hall less than we used to because everything can occur from behind the magical computer screen.

We need to remember that technology can be both helpful and hurtful to productivity and personal growth.  Don?t forget to unplug on occasion.  Here are some money quotes:

"I'm just a mother in real life, but online, I can be a whole person."

?I'd heard about Internet addiction before, but always assumed it was something limited to socially challenged guys who played too much World of Warcraft.?

?Sometimes I found myself up into the wee hours of the morning, surfing the Web while my family slept.?

?I wrote my personal blog and read dozens of others, just for something to do.?

"I'd talk to people in chat rooms for hours." "I needed to feel like a normal person who could have normal conversations that weren't about breastfeeding or how many ounces my son gained."

?whenever I felt overwhelmed, I would escape into mindless Web surfing? circling through the comments section on my blogs to my photos on Flickr to see if anyone had commented on them, and then over to Twitter to see if anyone was chatting with me there. I'd waste hours just waiting for someone to respond to something I'd said or posted."

Full post as published by The Greatest American Lawyer on April 14, 2009 (boomark / email).