Addicted to the Computer?

[This essay has been hanging about since February, waiting for the Chronicle to publish their article. It's beginning to look like that isn't going to happen. So... here we go.]

I am a member of the San Francisco Chronicle's Two Cents program (a pool of people who agree to be accessible to The Chronicle via e-mail to provide commentary on the news of the day and share their expertise and experiences). I receieved this note in the mail:

Greetings.

Our Reporter would like to hear from people who think they or their children might be "computer addicts'' — people who spend between 6 and 10 hours a day on their computers, Internet or otherwise (chatting, browsing, gaming, shopping, etc.), not because of their work but because they find it difficult to disconnect.

If you can help with this story — or if you know someone who can — please send me a brief e-mail that tells how much time you spend each day on the Internet and whether you consider it a problem. If it is a problem for you, have you done anything or are you planning to do anything to scale back?

You say this as if it's a bad thing.. :-)

I decided to respond...

I think you're missing a bet if you only talk to people who are online "not because of their work". You may miss those of us like myself, my spouse, and many of our friends, who are online for our work, for our play, and in between.

We're the techies, the hackers, the nerds, the geeks. We're the people for whom this is both vocation and avocation. We don't stop at 8 hours when the clock strikes 5 pm. We go on into the evening hours; we do it Because We Can (and because we want to).

We get paid to be on the computer (but our pay doesn't begin to cover all the hours we spend). We're also online out of a keen desire to be part of the Internet. We got these jobs because we want to work with this marvelous tool.

Our "normal" mode is in front of the screen, typing. We've got a chat window, email, three web browsers, a text editor, two terminal sessions, and a file upload going all at the same time. (As I work, my spouse is upstairs, I am downstairs, and we "chat" frequently...)

Some of us are into Internet telephony. Others have their chat sessions wired to show what music they're listening to. We know that "Google" is a verb. We type more often than we talk and interact with friends we've never met in person. We check our email on the way back to bed from the bathroom at 3 am.

Are we "addicted"? In some sense, yes. If we're away from the Net for several days in a row, we'll start itching to find a Wireless Cafe. We take the laptop on trips. We memorize email addresses more frequently than phone numbers.

Is that bad? I don't think so. Not all addictions are bad. Some people watch television. Some attend sporting events. Some go to parties. Some of us surf, type, chat, and code for fun. That's our entertainment.

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I received a note from the reporter the next day saying she liked my comments and could she talk to me some more. I agreed. She called and we had a nice chat about computers, cell phones, Blackberries, texting, IM, and a lot more.

The conversation brought up some things to think about. I grew up in a world without cell phones and personal computers. I was lucky enough to take a computer programming class in High School - we punched cards! I received a manual typewriter as a gift when I was in 8th grade. When I did reports for school, I went to the library, looked information up in books, and took notes in longhand in pencil on paper tablets.

Fast forward to the early 21st century. Professional adults carry PDAs, laptops, cell phones, and "crackberries" at all times. Kids and teens are connected by email, cell phones, chat sessions, SMS, and the WWW. Instantaneous communication is an assumption.

In a perfect example of synchronicity, the Wall Street Journal featured a piece on "The Type-A Bathroom". Those who can afford it can now check their email while they brush their teeth.

I am happy to say that I am not that far gone. I have a cell phone (that can send and receive email) but I turn it on unless I'm making a call. The cell phone is also a PDA but I still make most of my notes on paper.

It looks like I'm not "addicted" after all. Instead, I'll just say that I have a continuing love affair with technology. I'm online for most of the day, but at the end of the day, I still like to settle in with a cat and a book.