Cyberia
The weather was relatively mild around here this past weekend. The temperature was above freezing most of the time, and the usual snow was replaced by rain. Quite unusual for Montreal at the beginning of February. By all logic, I should have been outside most of the time, enjoying the warmer weather. But was I? Of course not! Because during every available moment, I was sitting at this computer. No matter what time of day or night, I use every available opportunity and make every possible excuse to go onto the computer.
Now, why do I do this to myself? Is it because I don't have much of a life? Well, that is part of it. Is it because the climate in Montreal is such that for a good part of the year, going outside and sitting in a park, for example, is not even an option? That is also part of the equation. But there seems to be a more basic reason. It is simply that being on a computer is often more fun than doing other things. So it is possible to delay doing things that I don't feel like doing anyways by simply going on the computer instead. And once I'm on the computer, it is quite difficult to get myself to turn it off and do something else. Computers can be quite addictive.
And to make things even more complicated, even if I get bored doing ONE thing on the computer, there are always an infinite number of other things available to do on it. Bored with checking your e-mail and surfing the net? Well, why not start a blog, or maybe even two or three of them? Sick of working on your blogs. Why not download some computer games to keep you busy? There are all sorts of open source ones on the web that you don't even have to pay for! I downloaded a strategy game called Wesnoth, and it is so complex that learning all the rules probably takes as much effort as studying for a university course! But ordering elves to fight against orcs is obviously much more fun than doing household chores or trudging through the snow.
So such is the reality for myself and probably countless other people. Is there a solution? I don't know. But the increasing availability of computers, plus the worsening situation in the outside world, is slowly turning us into a planet of cyber-troglodytes.