A lot of people spend enormous amount of time playing games and on the Internet. I have to say that I am one of them.
I get up in the morning and have to check what my friends sent me on Messenger and my emails. I go to lectures and when I come back I check my emails. I have spent days in front of the screen doing all sorts of things with no breaks at all. Can you call a break a 30min episode of Friends or Scrubs?
But is this an addiction or is it the modern way of life? Think about it. What ever I want to do I can do it on the computer and on the Internet. I talk to people, I read news, I shop, I listen to music, and if you take into account multiplayer games, I can share a household, have kids, conquer the universe, kill bad guys, take a drive, fly an airplane or just take a walk. Spending so much time in front of a computer is just a derivative of the modern way of life.
Since computers have become a household item more and more applications have emerged that simulate real life tasks and real life itself. More importantly applications emerged that enhance and ease everyday tasks. I no longer need to feel all the frustration of traffic when I want to shop for groceries, clothes or presents. I just shop online, from the comfort of my own home at whatever time I want. When I feel the urge of high speeds I just play a driving game, no expenses on fuel to burn and no danger.
The most distinguishing aspect of addictions is that they are destructive. They lead the addicted person into a destructive path that they cannot get out of. There are gambling addicts that leave there selves broke, there are drug addicts that kill themselves and there are computer addicts that do what? Play, socialize, shop, date.
I can shut down my laptop whenever I want, seriously. I just don’t want to. Like it or not it has become a part of our lives. Everything in our homes, our jobs, even our cars has been computerized. The way of life is the computerized way of life and is integrated so well that most people don’t even realize it.
To answer the original question, I would say you’re addicted…