Last night you took an L (internet addiction), but tonight you bounce back!

     

        Do you like your second life avatar more than yourself in real life? Do you care more about your image online than about your actual life? If the answer to these questions is a no, then congratulations, you are (probably) safe and sound. But, if the answer is a yes, then you should probably try to limit your time online, and get a life. Now, if you can't think of any ways that you can do this, or you think of it as something impossible, then you have a serious problem, but don't worry, there might be a solution! (and no, I'm not talking about going to rehab, even though it would be helpful too). In this blog, i will talk about 3 ways you can possibly reduce your online time.

        
        To begin with, the first (and probably the most obvious one) way, is to set time limits. This means that you will set certain time limits regarding your time online. You can do this in 2 ways. The first one, is to set a a specific amount of time you will dedicate to the internet. However, you need set reasonable limits. This means that definitely can't choose to have a limit of 12 hours a day. Instead, a limit of of 2 to 3 hours a day, maybe even 4, could be very helpful, especially at the beginning of the "treatment". The next way of doing this is creating a schedule of when you are going to be online. This must also be reasonable. You can't plan on spending 12 hours in the morning and 12 at night. Some more beneficial schedules would be 1 hour in the morning and 2 in the evening, or 1 in the afternoon and 2 at night. Generally, in this case it depends on your daily schedule and how much free time you have everyday, so the best thing to do is to create a different schedule for each day The last thing I have to say for this way, is to  follow the schedule, and not start it and stop following it the next day, unless it's for a special reason.

       

          The second way to limit your internet time, is to reduce the amount of social media you are using. It's fun to have social media accounts and be an active user; however, try not to have more than 4 or 5 social media accounts, because you probably don't really need all of them. Try to keep just the ones you like the most. Furthermore, you don't need to watch every single post, picture, or tweet on your feed. You can live without them.

        Finally, the third and last way to reduce time online, is to start doing other activities rather than being online all day. If you spend too much time on the internet, it's probably because you have nothing else to do. So, you could join a sports team, which would also benefit your physical health, or get a part time job, which would also benefit you economically. You could also spend time with your family and friends, and even get a boyfriend/girlfriend. In other words, get a life! Yes, the internet is fun, but there are much better things to do in this new place (you might have heard of it), called the real world!

       To sum up, internet addiction is something hard to overcome. especially at an "advanced stage". However, think of all the benefits you will have in all aspects of your life, if you manage to overcome your addiction. Just use one of the three tips I mentioned above (or maybe all of them, depends on how tragic your situation is), and you will be able to bounce back from this L like Big Sean!

                                                                Works Cited:

1) "Internet Addiction Quiz". Psychcentral.com. Psychcentral. 22 Nov 2016. Web. 19 Apr 2017.

2) Joyce, Amy. "Teens Say They Are Addicted to Technology". Washingtonpost.com. Washington Post Company LLC. 3 May 2016. Web. 19 Apr 2017.

3) Lenhart, Amanda. "Teens, Social Media, and Technology Overview." Pewinternet.org. Pew Research Center. 9 Apr 2015. Web. 19 Apr 2017.

4) Young, Kimberly. "What You Need to Know About Internet Addiction". Youtube. TedxBuffalo. 5 Jan 2015. Web. 19 Apr 2017.