5 Signs You're Addicted to New Technology

5 Signs You’re Addicted to New Technology

By Jessica Stilling. A frequent writer for christiancounselingdegree.org who just completed an online degree program

We’re living in a new age. For many of us, the term "Internet" had just been invented when we were kids. It was a cool thing some adults were into, but certainly not a way of life. Nowadays the Internet is not only an information highway, it’s part of a lifestyle. New technology is taking over not only the way that we get our information, but how we act and socialize and think about the world around us. For some it’s troubling, but others find this new way the world works refreshing. For those who relish the idea of a night on facebook or could not live without the latest Apple apps, good for you for keeping up with the times. But if you’ve taken it a bit further, if you live and breath new technology a little too much, you might want to consider this a bit more than a thing you do. It's ok though; we’re all addicted to something!

1. You live the Apple lifestyle. You don’t just buy Apple products and like the design of the new stores, you adhere to the lifestyle connected to it. You’ve painted your house all bright, bright white and turned the lighting up so hard that people have a hard time seeing. Where there’s not white paint, there’s glass or metal. You hang on everything Steve Jobs says and you make sure that all your apps are up to date.
2. You know every obscure artist on MySpace. Or facebook. People used to listen to what MTV told them to listen to; now people have branched out. New media has made it possible for the little guy to get a break, but you want every little guy to get every break.
3. You have 1,526 “friends.” That old buddy from high school, sure you still know him. The woman across the hall, you two know as much about each other as a brother or sister might. The mailman, he’s on your friends list; that man who sold you sneakers, you just found out he’s “feeling under the weather today.” You’re connected to everyone you’ve ever met, and you know more about them than you do your own mother, who never was so hip as to subscribe to this kind of new technology.
4. You spend more time checking Twitter than working. Sure you have a job, sure they pay you, but why dedicate all that time to work, especially when there are Twitter posts to check and even more to update?
5. Your friends know you better by screen name than real name. To your friends your name is greatgreengummy and not Ted or Cynthia. Ted? Cynthia? Who are they?