Confession of an online addict

I work in an advertising industry... surprise...surprise... In the past, I have always thought that I will be working in media or fashion industry, but somehow I stumbled upon advertising and started to like it. However I suspected that I am turning into a prissy online addict because of my job. I guess that would still be a prissy online addict if I work in media or fashion industry, but the very idea of not having my trusty laptop and internet connection horrifies me. I realise that it is almost turning into a problem (my smart phone is not helping my addiction), may be I am in a denial phase, but I believe that I am not that bad yet.

Now what is the connection between my job and my addiction? Well, it is quite direct. My position as a creative junior planner (ex-trendwatcher) demands me to be informed all of the time, which means being connected at least 17 hours per day (no compromise with beauty sleep). Frankly I love to be connected; however a habit is turning into a problem when one experienced a cold turkey! Typical withdrawal syndromes are as followed: anxiety of missing the latest news (however small), fretful from not checking email (or facebook or other similar social media), and uneasiness from not having information at the tip of fingers (google or other similar site).

Good news is that I am not a special case, online addiction is a very modern phenomenon, some have it worse, and some are better coping with it. My inner hippy natural girl assured me that I would be able to survive without all of these technologies and connectivity. I would even have better quality of life (less stress and pressure do wonder to skin!), but just like every other addict, I will say that there is always another day.

Julia, the hopeless addict, can be found in blogspot, facebook, friendster, and flickr. She is still weighting the benefit of twitter.