March 14, 2005
Addicted to News of Addiction
The WSJ has an article on Internet addiction, a familiar subject, and about finding the right balance between online life and "real" life.
The article raises the issue that there are now new mobile tools to fuel Internet addiction, as devices are dedicated to keeping you connected by shooting your e-mail to your PDA or your cellphone. " "One click away" is no longer close enough for Web sites that now offer RSS feeds or little taskbar icons that alert you when something's changed.".
[...] "As a society, we (OK, we should really say "everybody over 25") are still figuring out how the Net fits in with the rhythms of daily life. The Net is weirdly dislocating -- as many an unhappy employer or distraught parent can tell you, it lets people be not at work while at work, or not at home while at home.
But what about people who aren't addicted to online sex or gambling? What about people who seem to be addicted to the online world in general? That's where it gets tricky.
We suspect a lot of these people are addicted to information itself -- they've become keenly aware that oceans of information are constantly washing across the Net and love the fact that they can zero in on the information that concerns them and get updates whenever they choose to."
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