Addicted to the...internet?

[ambevil]

Hi guys

First of all I want to say that I love this forum and I love Catholic Answers (and I LOVE being Catholic). Y’all are amazing. This is my first post asking for good ol’ Catholic advice and I’m looking forward to some helpful feedback.

My issue is silly, it really is, and it should be easily solvable, but it concerns a lack of self-control and self-discipline so you know it hasn’t yet been solved :-/. I have a small addiction to the internet, particularly Facebook (go figure; that site could be boring and barren and I’d still be surfing on it). I feel that it is my poor attempt to find some sort of fulfillment, whether it be through engaging in a discussion with a friend, finding out new information that I didn’t know before, seeing a beautiful picture, or anything else emotionally stimulating and inspiring (and I’m a female so I’m partial towards emotional stimulation ). I actually get pretty depressed and disappointed in myself after spending hours on the internet and I feel I could have done something better with my time. I am a busy person and have been blessed with many beautiful responsibilities (I’m a pre-nursing student, daughter, sister, friend of many beautiful people, I’m involved with the Catholic Newman Center core team at my university, Catholic apologetics book club and I play a major role in the pro-life club…on top of my social life ). I have the desire to be a better person, to work on areas in my life that need work, like picking up a running schedule and healthy eating habits, putting my best into school work, putting extra work into preparing Newman theology nights, reading up on Catholic teachings/apologetics and improving my knowledge as a Catholic, having an actual heartfelt conversation with a friend face-to-face, picking up a wholesome hobby etc. etc. etc. These are all things I desire to do, but they are clearly crippled by my incessant devotion to the internet/Facebook.

Do any of you have advice on how to break a stupid habit, how I should view (limit?) the internet and Facebook in my life, how I should view life in general and what it means to grow into a responsible, disciplined adult, how to become a better Catholic and woman of Christ (and, honestly, I have {at least!} the desire to be the best Catholic woman I can be!) and…anything else? lol It is one of those things where I feel that I know what I must do (just bite the bullet and get over myself!) but…I don’t…and it’s because of a lack of self-discipline. I feel like Saint Paul who did what he did not want to do and did not do what he wanted to do. It’s a monotonous, annoying, and nasty circle.

Thanks guys!
(And p.s. I’ll take the harsh advice as well. Don’t hesitate to give me whatever honest advice you have!)
God bless you all!!!

 

[Charlotte1776]

I had a big problem with spending way too much time on the internet in highschool, and I think it had a lot to do with my OCD and ADD. I couldn’t pry myself away even though I really wanted too after spending hours and hours on it. Something my dad did to help was set up my computer to shut down automatically at 9:00 PM each night. If he didn’t, I could easily spend until 5:00 AM on random websites. Maybe you could set up something similar on your computer.

Internet addiction is becoming a very common problem, and it’s been getting a lot of media attention lately. You’re not alone in this! If you really think it’s been impacting your life in a seriously negative way, it might be worth talking to a psychiatrist or a psychologist about. There are lots of behavior modification techniques that can help, and even anti-anxiety meds if it becomes necessary.

 

[Julian0404]

It is not a stupid problem, it is serious as people carry that addiction into the work environment, and are terminated due to spending time on the internet instead of their work. If you cannot do it on your own, you need to seek a group.

 

[bkayw]

Internet is So addicting. I wish I could find the perfect compulsive behavior - one that helped me lose weight, kept my mind occupied, fed my soul and helped other people.

 

[gardenswithkids]

Hi guys

First of all I want to say that I love this forum and I love Catholic Answers (and I LOVE being Catholic). Y’all are amazing. This is my first post asking for good ol’ Catholic advice and I’m looking forward to some helpful feedback.

My issue is silly, it really is, and it should be easily solvable, but it concerns a lack of self-control and self-discipline so you know it hasn’t yet been solved :-/. I have a small addiction to the internet, …Do any of you have advice on how to break a stupid habit, how I should view (limit?) the internet and Facebook in my life, how I should view life in general and what it means to grow into a responsible, disciplined adult, how to become a better Catholic and woman of Christ (and, honestly, I have {at least!} the desire to be the best Catholic woman I can be!) and…anything else? lol It is one of those things where I feel that I know what I must do (just bite the bullet and get over myself!) but…I don’t…and it’s because of a lack of self-discipline. I feel like Saint Paul who did what he did not want to do and did not do what he wanted to do. It’s a monotonous, annoying, and nasty circle.

Thanks guys!
(And p.s. I’ll take the harsh advice as well. Don’t hesitate to give me whatever honest advice you have!)
God bless you all!!!

Why are you asking us?

The people who have successfuly broken the internet habit will never see your post!

I don’t know how to view use of the internet. I don’t know how to view my use of the internet. It requires moderation. Setting a time limit helps. Finding a daily schedule with only a certain amout of time alotted helps. I’ve given up favorite places for Lent or Advent. Yet it’s easy to fall back into over-use of the internet. I think that there is some blocking software that can monitor time for you. You can also try blocking sites and/ or delete favorites and cookies to places that you find you have the least amount of self control.

 

[ambevil]

Why are you asking us?

The people who have successfuly broken the internet habit will never see your post!

Hahaha! Oh gosh, guess I should’ve considered that first…

I don’t know how to view use of the internet. I don’t know how to view my use of the internet. It requires moderation. Setting a time limit helps. Finding a daily schedule with only a certain amout of time alotted helps. I’ve given up favorite places for Lent or Advent. Yet it’s easy to fall back into over-use of the internet. I think that there is some blocking software that can monitor time for you. You can also try blocking sites and/ or delete favorites and cookies to places that you find you have the least amount of self control.

Thanks, I think I may do that. I’m going to need internet access throughout the day though, as my school has “gone green” and requires that everything be online Kinda ruins my purpose. But as far as leisure sites go, like Facebook, I may limit myself to only 30 min. in the morning.

Julian0404, what kinds of groups are out there?

Thanks for all your advice! (And keep them coming!)

 

[LLMom]

I don’t have much advice to offer, but i know how hard it is. Can you try to notice when you get on? I found that I get on more when I am bored, lonely, or stressed. Sometimes, I just need interaction with others above the teen years. (I have 7 dc and stay at home and homeschool them). But I found that I would get on because I was bored, and then neglect my duties (like housework). No good. Sometimes it helps to have someone to be accountable to. I have tried to have my dh do this for me. He will ask how much time I have been spending online, how I am feeling about it, etc. Do you have someone like that who could help? Just a few ideas.

thechurchfanatic.blogspot.com

 

[Anne1964]

Bring it up in confession. The priest may have some good advice. I’m sure he has heard of this before.

 

[lovedbyHim]

Forgive me if I am being redundant in terms of other’s posts on the subject, but I really wanted to leave a comment for you and didn’t have time to read everyone’s replies. (because my computer time is almost up for the morning!)

You seem like a lovely young Catholic lady with wonderful interests and hobbies. I would hate to see you beat yourself up over this, so here is my advice.

Give yourself time limits. Several a day. i.e. in the morning when you first wake up, check Facebook but look at your recent news for say, 10 minutes or something. Then give youself another X number of minutes to surf just for the fun of it. Don’t log in to anything if you are doing homework or research. Then, maybe midday, have another session and give yourself a time limit. Then do it again in the evening. Maybe once before bedtime. Try short little spurts. This may help with Facebook, because you are still checking on who’s doing what.

My problem is lurking on other’s homepages to see photos of what/where/who, their posts, etc. The thing that gets me to stop is 1. I feel like I am a stalker and 2. I wouldn’t have known every little thing about so many people before Facebook, do I really need to know all this now?:nope:

You can set Facebook so you only see certain people, so I have my top ten friends and family on my main list. If I NEED to see someone else, I have to purposely look for them on my lists. That makes me not waste time reading all the posts of people I don’t really need to see.

I also downloaded an app to my smartphone. If you have one- try FriendStream. It shows only the current status or post of each person you know. That way I can glance at it and don’t have to risk wasting time on other stuff on Facebook.

I hope this helps you. I can sit on the computer for hours. Knowledge is a wonderful, beautiful gift. I believe that God is watching over the internet, because there is so much good, wholesome, clean, fun, interesting, information for us to learn about.:angel1: But because of that, Satan has his grubby claws on it and wants to grab anyone he can by temptations. And with THAT knowledge,** say a prayer as you sit down in front of the computer and tell Satan to go away!

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi guys

First of all I want to say that I love this forum and I love Catholic Answers (
Thanks guys!
(And p.s. I’ll take the harsh advice as well. Don’t hesitate to give me whatever honest advice you have!)
God bless you all!!!

don’t know about internet in general but it is certainly possible to become a CAF junkie, I should know I am the poster child.

Stewardship is the answer, as always.
Adopt a stewardship spirituality in regard to your time as well as talent and treasure. Dedicate time first to daily prayer and scripture reading, then to the duties of your station in life, and use the technology available including the internet that help you carry out those duties more efficiently. Just as you would not allow your duties to get in the way of your duty to God in prayer, you would not allow the tool to get in the way of the job itself.

 

[ambevil]

First off, you guys are so wonderful!!! Thank you all so much for your beautiful advice.

I took the advice to read scripture and just opened up to Proverbs (who wouldn’t want to be a Proverbs woman! ) and I came upon this passage about Wisdom: “Happy the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding! For her profit is better than profit in silver, and better than gold is her revenue; She is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can compare with her…My son, let not these slip out of your sight; keep advice and counsel in view; So will they be life to your soul and an adornment for your neck…Honor is the possession of wise men, but fools inherit shame.” (Emphasis added; Full text Proverbs 3: 13-35)

This is so great because you’re guys’ understanding and encouragement has been so helpful and…well, encouraging! What I’ve done today is kept myself limited to only 30 min. to Facebook this morning (and I loved the advice about not getting on during homework/study…which I get to do a lot of today!) and the rest for whatever else that is wholesome (Facebook is my main time-waster anyway). Also, went to early morning Mass for the first time in awhile and boy was God blessing me with the beauty of the day! Already your prayers and advice are working. God is good, isn’t He!?

St. Francis, pray for us!
Thank you all so much! I’ll be keeping you guys in my prayers today God bless.

 

[EasterJoy]

Why are you asking us?

The people who have successfuly broken the internet habit will never see your post!

I don’t know how to view use of the internet. I don’t know how to view my use of the internet. It requires moderation. Setting a time limit helps. Finding a daily schedule with only a certain amout of time alotted helps. I’ve given up favorite places for Lent or Advent. Yet it’s easy to fall back into over-use of the internet. I think that there is some blocking software that can monitor time for you. You can also try blocking sites and/ or delete favorites and cookies to places that you find you have the least amount of self control.

Oh, no kidding. As much as I enjoy it and as much as it is a source of encouragement, I have been seriously wondering if I have the self-control to use this site in moderation. My symptoms don’t fit those of a true addiction–I don’t break into sweats if I can’t get my CA fix—but there is a problem, no doubt about that. It is way worse than trying to eat just one potato chip.

If I quit posting altogether–and I probably should–you’ll all know why.

 

[AnneTeresa]

Thanks to the original poster. I think I am having a problem with this. I work on a computer during the day and sometimes I spend literally hours on the Internet doing non-work research and looking up things. I know this is wrong --my work is starting to suffer. It is not a good use of my work time. I mentioned it in confession and the priest suggested I find a bible study group so I could have some of my needs for information about catholicity and faith met there. I am just returning to my faith and have tons of questions–that’ is what most of my searching is about. Before I returned to the church, I had begun to notice that I did similar things online at work around decorating sites (an interest of mine). I thought I was just bored and that it would go away. It did but now I am doing it around faith and religion issues. I think I really need to start to deal with this. Last week I reported some vacation time to make up for some of the time I’ve wasted at work. I think I need to continue to do this if I am doing non-work things at work. Any advice or thoughts?

 

[dconklin]

The best way to break these ‘issues’ is to have something to replace them. At your age, becoming involved with a guy would do this - as long as it is not a virtual relationship. Find a really good book to read. It has to be a really, really good book. I just started a book that a childhood friend wrote and I have been sucked in. I have been sitting in front of the TV (my addiction) with a black screen and plowing through the book.

 

[gardenswithkids]

With others chiming in here about their own use of CAF, I feel like I’m in good company.

The internet is a great tool. Like any tool, it can be misused or abused, but it can also be used to build something highly worthwhile.

I recently used the internet to research mission statements. (I lead a small Catholic group and we were at a crossroads and needed to clarify our own mission.) I stumbled acrose a mission statement someone wrote for his/her blog. I will share it with the rest of you. While the mission statement didn’t exactly fit for my group, it might be appropriate for some of us here. Enjoy. And no loitering.

from stlouiscatholic.blogspot.com/2008/04/mission-statement.html

We, the blogger and readers of Saint Louis Catholic, come together under the wistful hope that wasting time better spent caring for our families or engaging in productive employment can be used in the service of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

**We endeavor, under the guidance of our Blessed Mother and other blogs we like, to promote the truths of the faith, to expose the ridiculousness and danger of heresies and those who espouse them, to keep a sense of humor at all times, and to occasionally pat each other on the back. **

**We reserve the right to talk about subjects that normal people shun, and to wonder why they do so. **

**We believe the Church has authority given her by Christ Himself, and we highly resolve not to look a gift horse in the mouth. We are grateful, in other words, for all we have been given. **

**We are truly inclusive group, in that we want everyone to be Catholic–really Catholic-- and to experience the abiding peace and joy that comes with the Catholic faith. **

**We seek to be a sort of advance newsletter scattered behind enemy lines. No loitering. **

P.S. Don’t mess with our Archbishop.