E-addiction is more common than you think

Are you spending too much time on the Internet, to the detriment of time you could be spending with family and friends?

A new poll from CouponCodes4U.com finds that 55% of people say they’re addicted to the web. Fifty-two percent say they spend more than 5 hours a day online away from work. And almost two-thirds say they’re spending more time on the web than with friends and family.

In my own life, I’m unhappy with how much time I spend online. So I’ve made at least one tweak. I’ve long suggested that parents should not allow a cell phone to stay in their teen’s room. I’m well past being a teen, but traditionally I’ve slept with my cell phone by the bedside. But now I charge the cell phone in my bathroom so I’m away from it, and it’s not the last thing I see at night and the first thing in the morning.

With the Internet, one of the rules we’ve had in my house is no Internet use after 9 p.m. at night. As my wife pointed out, I’ve been violating curfew. Well, I’m going back to the 9 p.m. curfew because otherwise you disengage from the people that you care about the most.

If what I’m saying resonates with you, think about how much we’re connected to our gadgets.

I was talking to somebody who has an iPhone for work. The person started telling me, “Yeah, I got it for free.”  No, you didn’t. Because now you’re handcuffed to your employer and they feel like they own you.

Don’t allow your workplace to own you on your private time. And don’t allow you to trap yourself with these things. Because we do make such a strong connection with these electronics, with the web.

Step back, step away and reconnect with people.