Internet Addiction

So I don't write too much here about my uhmmm history with adictive & compulsive behaviors - suffice to say its a long & complicated one. But every so often it becomes an issue in new & sometimes unexpected ways. I had issues a few years back with playing a totally stupid Palm Pilot computer game until wee wee hours of the am & till my lil' thumbs were nearly raw. And more recently its been pointed out by my "better" half (you know who you are) - that I spend too much time at times wandering through blog-land & reading the drama of the internets lives.

Now I think that this criticism is partially misplaced. I wouldn't be harshed on for my long phone calls with "real life" friends going over the minuteau of the drama in their lives - and I don't think that my relationship with my pretend friends should be treated all that differently. In fact its even less obsessive I think because the internets have really really good drama going on - its like a great soap opera with many characters delivered in daily installments but with unexpected grace & humor (and occassional bitchy comment wars to boot.)

So is Em justified in her criticism... I suppose yes in the fact that I can sit down and go through a ton of blog entries that can take 1-2 hours to read - that is a long chunk of time at the computer when she'd rather have me paying attention to her or the boy. -- But I don't think I'd get the same grief if I sat down to read a novel for 2 hours --- even a cheesy crappy novel. I think there is something deeper that she's worried about - something in not getting how strangers can be invested in each others lives like the ring of folks on the internet clearly can be -- I think you don't get it unless you let yourself be into it. I don't know if that makes sense. So yeah its like my guilty pleasure - like Ice Cream & Soap Operas.. but at the same time & I am really caught up in how these journeys towards parenthood are going for folks.

Anyway I gotta run now & check in on some of my pretend friends ....