=?ISO-8859-1?Q?J=F6rg_=27Yadgar=27_Bleimann?= <yaz### [at] gmxde> wrote:
> Fear, fear, fear - that has been my life during the last
> 40 years! And only now I try to take some measures against this
> obsession...

That shows real courage! Just by realizing it, and wanting to change. That's a
positive step.

It's difficult (probably THE most difficult thing) to break away from an
ingrained mind-set. You're certainly not alone in that regard. I have an
acquaintance (not really a 'friend', as our philosophies just differ too much)
who spends countless hours on the internet, going from site to site to
essentially 'reinforce' her irrational and negative views of the world. Why she
CHOOSES to do so is a mystery to me, as this behavior is really unhealthy for
her. (Some of those internet sites are *so* strange, extreme and paranoid that
it boggles my mind.) We've had discussions about this; but the bottom line is
that she refuses to acknowledge that there might be a problem, and likewise
refuses to seek any help for it. So your own realization (even if late in
coming) is a great positive step!

Internet addiction is indeed a problem, and a growing one. I'm an older guy;
when I was growing up, we had *limited* interaction with the wider outside
world: three TV channels(!) plus newspapers, that was about it. Information came
from trusted, rational sources. And it was essentially a 'one-way
street'--opinions about the news and the world were generally shared only within
the family, or among close friends. With the modern internet, though, it's a
free-for-all: *Anyone* with an extreme viewpoint and/or an ax to grind can
'broadcast' to the world--and can easily connect with a group of like-minded
people, which only serves to *reinforce* the group's skewed opinions. It leads
to more extremism, in all forms. (That's one reason why I don't visit Facebook
very often: too many 'fringe' opinions about things.)

So getting away from the internet (if only temporarily) is highly recommended!
;-)

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