Oplan Contra Internet Addiction

I am addicted to the internet.

I make sure to be online at least once a day. People have more chances of me replying to them on weekends if they email me instead of give me a text message. I rarely get to see television shows because I get myself behind the laptop as soon as I get back home from work. I am so addicted to the internet that I watch the popular TV commercials everyone is talking about on the web. Do I miss watching my favorite TV channels like the History and Discovery or my favorite sitcoms and shows like How I Met Your Mother? Not really, I just buy season episode compilations of my favorite shows and watch it on my laptop.

Too much of the internet, as with anything, is bad. I mean don’t get me wrong, the internet is a good tool for research (accuracy, not so much) and communication (again, clarity, not so much). The internet has been molded to become the melded manifestation of human laziness, moral devaluation and need for attention. And our forefathers were worried about the depravity coming from the boob tube.

They are saying that this boom in the internet phenomenon is just the start of the real Internet Age. I consider as proof MIT students converting trash into high speed wireless network in Afghanistan after the U.S. Government failed to keep one WIFI hotspot running. Imagine that there’re WIFI hotspots everywhere. I envision a  ”Ghost In The Shell”-like world where everyone has cyberbrains connected to the internet, and you have to buy yourself a powerful firewall to prevent getting hacked. Sure, you could just think it and your Facebook page will show before your eyes, but I don’t think I want to go there.

The simplest things in life are the most honest. So, here are some simple things that I am planning on doing instead of back reading my news feed in Facebook or striving to read all of the articles on Cracked.com.

1. Do gardening on sunday. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt soil and earthworms on my hands. I miss it.

2. Give my dogs a bath.

3. Do more art projects. I love working with my hands. I remember that as late as last year I kept on making home-made “souvenirs” to go together with the gifts I give others. I create papier-mache stuff. I remember I made a mini-cabinet for my friend. I also buy blank shirts and paint on it by hand. I may not be the best painter but I enjoy it. So who cares what it looks like?

4. Study HTML. I’ve been bugging myself to do this for a long time. True, I would have to research the codes online, but I could just download it and study.

5. Read more books.

6. Cook more.

7. Give my mom a back massage.

8. Give my Ae (auntie) tutorials on how to use the computer, specially MS Office.

9. Sit outside with my Lola (grandma) more while she reminisces of the past.

10. Get my news from newspapers when I sip my coffee every morning.

I am still grateful for the internet. How else could I have read about people who have survived shit that would have killed a terminator? But I’m realizing that some of my time would be better spent doing things that would create memories instead of just things that I remember.

Nankurunaisa.