Robin
takes pride in her disciplined daily routines. A 29-year-old
public relations consultant, she works hard and takes
care of her health: healthy food, regular exercise;
plenty of rest. Until recently she went to bed at
10 P.M. daily to make sure she’d get her full
eight hours sleep before her alarm rings at 6 A.M,
giving her plenty of time for her morning jog and
a leisurely breakfast before heading off to work at
7:45.
A couple of months back, Robin subscribed to America
Online, an Internet service, and soon discovered chat
rooms. The initial visits lasted for an hour or so,
finding the chat rooms a pleasant diversion. But then
she chanced upon a few groups of people who appeared
to be like her, and she began to engage in fascinating
discussions about business, travel, movies, photography,
and relationships. So much for discipline.
“Now I stay up until at least 2 A.M. every night,”
she admits. “I never intend to stay on that
long, but every night it’s the same.”
Now, every morning, Robin has to hit the snooze button
on her alarm several times before dragging herself
out of bed. The time for morning jogs and those
leisurely breakfasts is gone; the latter substituted
by the bagel she grabs as she runs out the door. She
reaches her workplace lethargic, and the creativity
that once flowed so easily from her which aids her
in her job has deserted her exhausted mind now. In
the past two cups of coffee was the self-imposed maximum
that she allowed herself in the morning, and now she
needs six or seven just to get her through to lunch.
When she staggers home, she is aware that she should
rest early to make up for lost sleep, but by 8:30
P.M. she’s back in the Internet realm, where
those rational ideas about rest disappears.
“One time,” Robin recalls, “I stayed
on-line so long that I heard the birds singing and
could see the sun rising out my window before I realized
it was 6 A.M. – time to get up.”
It is thus important to know that IAD, just like any
other addiction, can quickly change one’s
character and personality, affecting their daily routines
and schedule, ultimately becoming detrimental to one’s
personal life. Without sufficient self-restraint,
one can rapidly degenerate into an addict, such
as Robin herself.
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