Am I Addicted To The Computer?

I play as soon as I come home from school and stay till 10:00PM (6 hours), I basically just do it to kill time cause there is nothing else to do, what do you guys suggest I do (rather than going outside because my friends live too far).

 

Here's my advice:

If you like reading, go ahead to the library and here's the tip : STAY THERE! I find that staying at the library makes you read. If you come back, you might just get to a boring chapter of a book and then go back to the computer.

If you like sports, go ahead and find a lesson you can pay for. For example, you may want to go to your community center / look online for a basketball lesson.

If you like academics, enroll in a class (aside from school).

 

Well reading and academics dont really exite me but ill try your advice about sports. Thanks.

 

Honestly, I advise just cutting your access to your computer. You won't stop unless there's something stopping you.
You could just stay away from home and your computer, and go for sports, maybe hang out with friends...
Also, if you aren't interested in reading and academics, try finding a new hobby instead of the computer...

 

Addicted to the computer would be like... im cutting class and going on the computer from 9am to 9pm and sometimes i dont sleep so i can be on. That would be addicted.

Find new friends that live closer?

 

That was me with ''wow''... = ( lol

 

understandable... ive heard its hella addicting... that is why ive never tried it lol and dont want to. Its like a drug you hear is addicting and dont want to try it because you're afraid you will like it too much.

 

There are different types of addiction, it's not a blanket term.

It's more likely that you are just finding it hard to think of things to do, rather than a full addiction. If you have withdrawals (ie aggression, depressive thoughts and so on) when you are not on the computer, you probably do have a problem and should see a doctor or talk to a trusted adult.

However, if you're just bored, all you need to do is find something else to occupy your time. If you think the computer is impacting on your education/employment or your social life, you should also try and seek some help. But it sounds more like you're just stuck for a different way to fill your time.

 

That's not addicted. Addiction is just like what Eliza lined out.

Just get a girlfriend. You'll soon be spending a lot of time with her and you'll forget about the computer.
You can also just unplug your computer and give the power cable to a parent or someone close to hide. If you ever need it again, you can ask for it back.

 

Yeah but most of us are. We're all addicted to electronics/tv to some extent. Who cares, just maintain a balanced healthy life and keep contact with what friend you've got.

 

I think you're just trying to pass time away, addicted is no social life.

 

Well it depends on what your doing on the computer. These days people spend more time on computers than they do watching TV, if this is your daily cycle then yes ignore what all these people are telling you, you are addicted.

Realistic-ly the amount of things you could be doing between 4-10 pm is fucking TONS, I guess you also don't stay after to school to socialise with your friends, just run straight home to your computer in this vicious cycle which could be turning you into a social outcast.

First step you should take, is straight after school, head over to a friends house or take part in an after school club. Also you could just use your school computers, for ur daily use... I'm pretty sure they won't let you stay until 10:00pm.

Secondly get more active during the day, I don't think you get active enough during the day since you can have a straight 6 hour concentration span on a computer up until near midnight. The walks to your friends house would benefit you.

Maybe one day you will get in a be like " Oh I reli CBF to go on the PC, I'ma get some rest"

 

If all he's doing is replacing time he would normally spend watching TV, playing games and so on his behaviour isn't particularly worrying.

This is absolutely true. If you feel you are losing touch with your friends, you should try and limit your time on the computer.

There's no need for him to do anything too drastic, from what he has described his situation is not very severe.

How do you know how active he is during the day?

This is directed at the OP by the way, how old are you? You sound like you have very few commitments with sport, homework and so on.

 

Its funny how you said give the cord to someone... when my parents tried to get me to stop using the computer so much they'd take out the cords or put in a password, but i always had spare computer cords for everything just in case and always knew how to bypass the password so that never prevented me.

 

Try watching tv, it kills time and there's usually something good on, also porn is a good 30-60 mins of my everyday life don't judge.

 

There could be several, deep causes of your addiction. The more obvious one to me, is confidence. Before I continue, I would just like to say that if you're confident, ignore this, if you aren't I feel this shall benefit you - mind you, even if you consider yourself confident I still think it could come in handy. Confidence is a huge aspect of life. Without confidence, you would struggle to do the simplest of tasks/activities/etc. Even tiny, simple things such as walking to the shops to pick up a loaf of bread can cause unwanted stress, all from confidence, or, the lack of it. A very dear friend of mine used to have serious confidence issues. At times, it would get to the point where he wouldn't socialise, he wouldn't chat, communicate, or anything. From what I have read thus far, I think his scenario could be similar to yours. My friend (we'll call him "Benny" for this purpose only), Benny, would spend large amounts of time on his computer, all because he wasn't confident.

Benny was a very confident young man. He was captain of several sports teams, had tons of friends, had laughs, met with the girls, and so on. When he hit puberty, this all changed. He became a lot hairier than people his age. Due to this, people at his school were bullying him. Since he was getting picked on, he wouldn't hit the town, or go out at all. He then came across the internet. The internet was a great way for Benny to socialise, but at the same time not get picked on. His avoiding behaviour progressed from one step to another. Using the internet, Benny could chat, discuss, talk, communicate, without the unwanted pressure of his "mates". He was using his computer as an opportunity to "socialise". Actually, he wasn't socialising, however in his mind that's what he thought. But then, as he became part of communities, got hooked into games and so on, it was becoming worse and worse. So actually him being "social" was actually causing a huge "domino" effect on his life. One thing would lead to another, all because he was avoiding one thing.

In your case, I doubt it is as severe as Benny's. However, I can assure you that there will be certain aspects of what I've just said which apply to you. If you want to, have a read over what I've just explained and gone through, and hit me up with a PM or reply here what - if any - parts apply to you, and then I can help you out.

As for some of the posts above regarding "full addiction" and whatnot; there isn't really a scale of addiction. At the end of the day, if you're addicted - no matter how minor you consider it - it will gradually progress to something more extreme.

Finally, I would just like to say that several symptoms of addiction are an aggressive attitude when told to come off, or "stop", for no particular reason you feel the need to spend vast amounts of time on, in this case, the computer. The second symptom, as stated in your original post, applies to you. I think that it's great that you've had the confidence to express how you feel, and ask for some assistance. As for the resolution, it really depends on what's happening when you're on the computer, when you're off it and your personal issues and confidence. You may not have confidence or pyschological issues, therefore we would need to address this in a different way. If you would feel you need me to run over anything I have said, I would be more than happy to. Also, it would help out a lot if you could reply saying if you're genuinely bored and thus you feel that the computer fixes your boredem, and also if you think you have confidence issues. Even if it's as minor as you can not sneeze in public (this is just an example), or even if it's fairly severe, it would help me, and any one else wanting to lend a hand in regards to your situation if you could state if or not your feel confident.

 

A sport would be a good idea, maybe a job?

 

Sports, is a definite way to get yourself away from a computer

 

Yes i think you are thats why i bot