This morning, my initial attempts at productivity went astray, as I found myself clicking aimlessly through the 2018 Billboard Awards online photos. Boredom-spurred addictions are not a new thing. In the pre-Facebook, let alone pre-Internet age, there would be a stack of dog-eared magazines in every waiting room. Often the stack was People magazine-heavy, and, fueled by boredom, I would flip through the pages in a sleazy, guilt-ridden angst. People Magazine comes out weekly, and I would discover I was flipping through a 2-week old magazine with dated news. So, I’d dig through the pile and find the latest edition, and learn the most recent minutiae about Jennifer Aniston’s post-Brad freakout.
In this dystopian post-Facebook cyber age, online is what I get. The good thing is, when I get bored after the 10th click, I can diverge to something else.
This is my world: clicking through bait until boredom hits, and then and veering to the next thing. When I’m, say, watching the front desk at work, I might hover on one article a bit longer than if I’m, say, just taking a break while working on creative projects at home. But technology’s always a distraction, and it never provides more than a brief glimpse of the temporary serenity I’m looking for. The constant checking of phones becomes an addiction, where I beg for a retreat from homeostasis. A quick shot of liquor provides the same escape, and is much less damaging because alcohol is only addictive to those who are predisposed. Technology is addictive to virtually everyone.
How do you stop the chronic internet addiction? You can plan to stop looking at your phone, but our entire culture has already surpassed that point. We might just have to endure our it. When you’re waiting in a doctor’s office, you can either flip through a germy People’s magazine, or click through bait on your phone. The addiction is here to stay, so don’t bother fighting it. Just take a break sometimes, and go walk outside without your phone, or hide your phone in your glove compartment for an afternoon.
The break will feel pretty good. Then, you will wonder what’s happened most recently in the news and click on MSN or CNN, and fall prey once again to the cyber monster in your pocket. Whatever. At least internet addiction doesn’t rot your teeth like sugar or meth.