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I can probably truthfully say that many people are addicted to the internet and find themselves unable to let go of it easily. People use the internet for school, work, and as a tool as an information source. Those things aren't necessarily bad and part of the addiction. Internet users become addicted when they get into social networking websites, gaming websites, writing websites *cough*, and all those other websites out there that cater to people's interests. Used in a limited amount, these websites aren't bad, either.
And that's just it.
People can have trouble limiting themselves. They open up their internet browser and literally have a wealth of information accessible through their fingertips. Tempting? I'll say. Self-discipline might work for some, but it takes time to develop and refine. Those with addictive tendencies especially find it hard to limit themselves and just might need something more forceful than self-discipline.
Here is where LeechBlock comes into play. Leechblock is a Firefox addon that helps you manage websites that "leech" your time away.
I got pretty attached to my laptop and Bad Things happened in the Real World as a result. I finally told myself that I wasn't going to let my Virtual World affect my Real World, so I searched around for help. I found LeechBlock and decided to use it. First of all, I had to add all of those websites I had grown attached to into the designated LeechBlock option areas. There were many. I put some in a permanently blocked area in the addon and then I put others in areas where I could time myself and limit my use. Of course, then my treacherous side found some loopholes, but I found ways to out-trick the loopholes by figuring out what I needed and didn't need. Eventually, the permanent list became not-so-permanent and a bit depleted as I got rid of websites I never wanted to use again. My list of limited-time websites became smaller. I drilled myself into thinking that I didn't need to go into the archives of every single webcomic, blog, fansite, and art gallery and drilled into my mind the fact that fanfiction was not good publishing material. Facebook became annoying and barely used. Twitter was never touched. And it worked. I still watch myself now, but I can happily let go of my laptop and internet whenever I need to do so.
For those who use Firefox and are desperate for a good addon against internet addiction, LeechBlock is a good choice. I'm not sure about other web browsers, though. I'll look into addiction help for those who use Internet Explorer, Safari, and Google Chrome later.
