Confessions from an internetaholic

I've never tried "Second Life" because I'm afraid that if I did, I would get seriously addicted. It's true, computers are an addiction for me. The first step to recovery is admitting your addicted, right? I'm contemplating starting IA - Internetaholics Anonymous.

With all these lovely new web2.0 services it's really hard not to get addicted. I've recently discovered facebook, yes, I'm a bit late, and I found tons of friends I need to keep in touch with. And who knows what happens while I'm logged out. I have to check...brb

I'm back. I also have Twitter, which I have to update regularly. I mean, unless it's updated, what's the point? (You can check it out at my main page)

And then there are my other "projects". I just launched my personal website, which took some time to work on and finish. Someone has to fill it with material, and that someone happens to be me. I also have a business making websites for other companies, which takes time to manage.

These are only the things I feel I have to do. Then add all the things I just want to do. All the leisure surfing, the things I just have to check out, and the searching for new cool web2.0 services, cool scripts for my website and so on...

I used to have an addiction downloading stuff. Not so much the downloading itself, it was like a case of collecto-mania. If I started downloading a tv show, I had to have every episode and every season, no exceptions. The collection had to be complete. I've just recently gotten out of this.

I also have to organize. I'm usually not an organized person, my wife will more than happily vouch for that. But when it comes to my computer, I'm a clean freak. My iTunes library is almost perfect. I have covers for all my albums, where there is one. I also make sure all the titles are correct and track numbers and such. My iPhoto is organized with albums and everything. I get angry if someone messes up my libraries. For example, I get irritated when some downloaded music doesn't have the correct ID3 tags filled out.

All this time spent on the internet or just in front of my mac gives me a bad conscience, like I'm neglecting my "real" life. After a day spent on facebook, it's sometimes hard to know who said what where. This is one huge drawback of web2.0, I can't share it with my wife. She doesn't have facebook, doesn't blog, I don't think she's ever downloaded a file in her life, so anything that "happens" in my internet life she doesn't know about, and can't relate to.

The thing I'm not sure about is:

Am I really neglecting my "real" life when I'm socializing on the internet? Or is this the way our real lives will be, is this how we socialize? Personally, I like new technology, and like using it. I think that these social networks of the net are going to be a big part of our social lives, and we either embrace it, or miss out on a good opportunity to keep in touch with friends.

Most of my friends o facebook are friends I don't meet anymore, and it's really a great way to catch up on things. It doesn't have to be every day or anything, it's just fun to hear from people, what they're doing and where they live.

I don't know how to end this, I've probably exceeded my daily blog-limit by far.