I think I'm a forum-aholic

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EasterJoy

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This “check in once in awhile” thing is not working out so well. This is not good. 😦
 
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over Catholic Answers Forum, that our lives had become unmanageable…

😉

Actually I do think I am rather addicted to the internet. I think it has affected my life. I just don’t know where to turn for help…I suppose I could google 12 step groups…oh wait…no…

😦
 
My CAF addiction seems as bad as it ever was . . . :o

The worst thing is when I’m getting ready to get off the computer but I have to check CAF one more time to see if anybody responded to my thread or post of several minutes ago…😃
 
I’m a bit of a forum junkie myself. Although I’m new to this forum, there are others that I have posted regularly on for years. I am trying to get into the habit of turning the computer off most of the day. It really disgusts me at times to think about all the work that should have been done, yet I spent so much of my time reading forum posts and very little work was actually accomplished. It helps to leave the computer off a good chunk of the day.
 
I’m a chronic CAF lurker. I don’t post much but I check in at least once a day (more like 3 or 4 times a day :eek:). I like to see the follow ups to topics on which I posted or that I am just interested in. I also check the groups I belong to, to see whats happening in there 🙂

My consolation is that we could be doing worse things with our time. I love looking things up, though, and really enjoy the internet. I am always interested in something-anything new. As soon as I hear about something or think of something, I love to look it up and find out about it! 🙂

Martina
 
I think it’s like any other habit we’re trying to break…I tend to say a quick prayer to get me over the temptation and to redirect my mind. Granted CAF isn’t the worst habit in the world, but it could detract from more meaningful contact with family members, friends, etc. Good luck and prayers!
 
If you have the free time, then you could just call it a hobby. 🙂

BTW @ EasterJoy, do you spend up to/more than 7 hours here? On one thread, before I went to bed, you were posting. When I woke up, you were still online and I just told myself: respect EasterJoy. 😉 But maybe it was just a coincidence that you had gone offline and just came back. 🤷
 
Me too. I recently read something by Barbara Nicolosi on the topic of 21st century discipleship that makes me feel better about my forum addiction. I looked up a quote she had from Pope Benedict on Truth, Proclamation And Authenticity In The Digital Age and found this. (There’s more but this has some of highlights.) ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=111132
…Ever greater involvement in the public digital forum, created by the so-called social networks, helps to establish new forms of interpersonal relations, influences self-awareness and therefore inevitably poses questions not only of how to act properly, but also about the authenticity of one’s own being. … In the search for sharing, for ‘friends’, there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself.
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“The new technologies allow people to meet each other beyond the confines of space and of their own culture, creating in this way an entirely new world of potential friendships. This is a great opportunity, but it also requires greater attention to and awareness of possible risks. Who is my ‘neighbour’ in this new world? Does the danger exist that we may be less present to those whom we encounter in our everyday life? Is there is a risk of being more distracted because our attention is fragmented and absorbed in a world ‘other’ than the one in which we live? Do we have time to reflect critically on our choices and to foster human relationships which are truly deep and lasting? It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives”. “To proclaim the Gospel through the new media means not only to insert expressly religious content into different media platforms, but also to witness consistently, in one’s own digital profile and in the way one communicates choices, preferences and judgements that are fully consistent with the Gospel, even when it is not spoken of specifically. Furthermore, it is also true in the digital world that a message cannot be proclaimed without a consistent witness on the part of the one who proclaims it.”…
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This is an important subjdct for me. I have gone through extended periods when im posting 5 and 6 times a day. I tried to justify an average of 5.7 posts a day but i couldnt. Especially when each of those posts represent at least 10 minutes of reading/ writing. Some represent a lot more.

clarity and facts are important tools. The same way dieters count calories and people on strict budgets log every purchase, I timed myself. How long did it really take to read/ respond?

Usually 15 or more minutes. How many times did i do that today?

Man, that adds up.

If im not homebound, why am i not spending that time in front of blessed sacrament? Or praying rosary at abortion mill? Or visiting neighborhood nursing home?

And if im doing those things, is my family fed? Did we talk? Pray? Play?

Maybe there are some people who can spend an hour every day on CAF. it’s wrong for me. I want to keep my log in time under 30 minutes a day. My post average under 2.

My activity on sundays keeps my numbers at about 1.5 posts a day. And i pray before i choose to respond. If four people already wrote my thoughts, i dont need to reiterate. I may hop in with support of ideas, but i dont need to rehash.

I realized that my online chatter could become as unvirtuous and faulty as my real world chatter can be.

Evangelizing is an awesome mission. But it’s sheer pride for me to presume every word i utter is evangelistic. Many of my words are not.
 
If anyone can’t break the habit no matter what, you could always write something really uncharitable and get permanently banned!

Just kidding mods!!!

:eek:😉
 
monicatholic said:
This is an important subjdct for me. I have gone through extended periods when im posting 5 and 6 times a day. I tried to justify an average of 5.7 posts a day but i couldnt. Especially when each of those posts represent at least 10 minutes of reading/ writing. Some represent a lot more.
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Before you or anyone here beats themselves up over this too much, remember that people in the past would spend hours each day reading letter correspondence and writing a response. As an example, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, etc. all spent a great deal of time doing this. Engaging in this kind of exchange sharpens the mind and forces you to really understand what it is you hold true. You will find that most people on the street consider topics at a very weak surface level. They rarely probe deeper.

These threads make you think.

Now, if you are neglecting serious matters, it is a problem. If have a urine jar because you don’t want to leave your seat in front of the computer, you have a bigger problem. I doubt anyone here is spending anymore time posting and reading than many educated folks have in the past. Don’t let the technology fool you into thinking that you aren’t doing some serious mental lifting.
 
I was a real forum junkie years ago. At one point I was a very active member of at least eight forums, and less active on several others. One of them was a real hotbed for political arguments and when I saw that the handful of people on my side weren’t able to hold their own, I created two other accounts to not only back myself up but also stir things up with some of the real troublemakers without getting my main account in trouble. Had I channeled all that time on the various forums into actual writing, I’m sure I could have easily churned out at least a dozen lengthy novels (one of them even had a thread devoted to who could come up with the longest coherent post; I was the de facto winner when one of my posts crashed the database). I cut back on some of them gradually, either due to not having enough time, the websites shutting down or me getting myself banned, then took an extended break from forums in general a few years ago. CAF’s the only place I post now, and I’m on here much less than I had been since our latest baby arrived.
 
Nec5 said:
Before you or anyone here beats themselves up over this too much, remember that people in the past would spend hours each day reading letter correspondence and writing a response. As an example, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, etc. all spent a great deal of time doing this. Engaging in this kind of exchange sharpens the mind and forces you to really understand what it is you hold true. You will find that most people on the street consider topics at a very weak surface level. They rarely probe deeper.

These threads make you think.

Now, if you are neglecting serious matters, it is a problem. If have a urine jar because you don’t want to leave your seat in front of the computer, you have a bigger problem. I doubt anyone here is spending anymore time posting and reading than many educated folks have in the past. Don’t let the technology fool you into thinking that you aren’t doing some serious mental lifting.
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Well, I feel better. Thanks!🙂
 
TheRealJuliane said:
If anyone can’t break the habit no matter what, you could always write something really uncharitable and get permanently banned!

Just kidding mods!!!

:eek:😉
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LOL

Eastey JOY 🙂

How about a making a schedule of what you need to do during the day, and setting aside time to get online and browse? That way, you finish whatever you need to do, you have time set aside to make sure everything gets done, and you can spend whatever time you decide reasonable online. If you need a flexible schedule, you choose an amount of time you think would be reasonable to spend on the forums and time yourself to make sure you stick to it (and maybe after you complete your to do list for the day), or choose periods in the day where it is ok to do get on the forums… Whatever you choose to do, it is a great exercise of self control (which is fantastic for your spiritual life) to stick with it, and you can offer it up as well :).
 
I hope that you don’t give us up! Many of your posts have been very insightful, and helpful to others. Thinking of those of you who post often, I wonder where PuzzleAnnie is?
 
Marysann said:
I hope that you don’t give us up! Many of your posts have been very insightful, and helpful to others. Thinking of those of you who post often, I wonder where PuzzleAnnie is?
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Could be Puzzle Annie has a real life to attend to!

I just need to stay off of here unless I a) have the time and b) have a timer set. If I can’t submit to the timer, though, I’m going to have to give this place up.
 
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