Home Computer Talk

What is it that is so addictive to so many people? There may be as many reasons as there are computer owners. Computers offer so many different aspects and depending on which program you run, the same box can offer nearly all of them.

If you buy a car, the chances are it will not be able to go bush bashing in four-wheel-drive mode (here in Australia they call SUV’s Four Wheel Drives (4WD’s) AND drag off a Porsche at the stoplight AND carry the family plus dog in comfort AND provide a wind in the hair experience on the open highway. You have to compromise in the initial choice.

But with a computer, it’s possible to buy a box that plays games a lightning speed, crunches data at a pace only recently reserved for mainframes in International Corporations, play DVD’s in full surround sound and turn those holiday movies into a professional looking DVD. All the while, allowing you to browse across the world, gathering esoteric information on subjects not dreamed of twenty years ago.

With a click of a mouse, you can go from an in-depth discussion of Shakespeare to raunchy sex movies, from a specialist site on high-end hardware to a genealogy site for tracing your family tree. The very act of looking across the net has become as addictive as any drug and children (and others) are being diagnosed with mental problems because of their fascination with the various aspects of computers.

But then, from another point of view, is it so bad? Computers engage the intellect, draw on imagination and provoke thought. Prior to the advent of a computer in the home, the addictions were focused on TV. Sit in a chair, switch on the Idiot Box, switch off your mind and move only when the bladder forces it. People who lived for drugs now find a niche in the computer environment that lets them escape the meaninglessness or the pain of their pasts.

The one side of being a computer addict that could cause problems is that we sit in one position for hours at a time. The body isn’t built for that. So remember to do some exercises. At least every two hours, get up from the screen and stretch, move around and change the focus of your eyes. That means look out to a distance, go to the windows or step outside and expand your horizons.

Then come back, refreshed and with the blood flowing again and settle in for another bout with your favourite reason for having the chipped up beastie in your room.