This day and age, it’s not unusual for a household to have an Internet connection, and the apartment I share with my roommate isn’t any different. We used to have your run-of-the-mill dial-up connection, and despite the sometimes slow speed, it served our web surfing purposes well. We got things done and when needed, always found something that could amuse us on the web.

But after a few months, when my roommate and I found ourselves moving up the job pecking order, we thought about acquiring a DSL connection. After calculating the cost and debating whether it would really be any better than our current dial-up connection, we finally agreed to throw caution to the wind and try it out.

The DSL connection was wonderful. What usually took us an hour to do could be done in 15 to 20 minutes. Downloading is a veritable breeze, and it just made everything that we had to do online much more convenient. It frees up so much time that we can actually use the Internet for leisure than just for work.

We’ve had the connection now for something close to two months. Yesterday morning, when my roommate woke up to me online again, he joked that maybe I’ve become an Internet addict, what with all the time I spend online. Of course the two of us laughed about it, but now the thought kinda bothers me.

I do spend quite a lot of time online, even much longer than I used to when we had a slower dial-up connection. There have been days when I’ve been up all night just surfing the web, but it’s not like it’s interfering with my work or anything. I manage to keep myself awake for most of the day and take naps during breaks. Besides, it’s not like this is a daily occurrence. And it’s not like I’m downloading porn or anything like that.

Besides, even if I do have an addiction (which I doubt), what’s the worst that could happen to me? It’s not like it’s drugs or a life-or-death situation anyway. And I can turn off the computer anytime I want. Anyway, before I go on an entirely different tangent, I guess my question would be: How much is too much? And if I have crossed the line somewhere, what’s the worst that could happen to me? - Renton-

CHICO SAYS... First of all, the internet IS a wonderful thing, and even more fantastic is a fast DSL connection to go with it. But, just like some of the most beneficial inventions man has come up with, such as money and atomic energy, too much can prove disastrous.

Honestly, I don’t think you’re really addicted to the net. True addiction entails denial (which you obviously don’t have since you’re writing to us about it) and a burning unwillingness to quit. I think you’re just extremely excited about the novelty of a fast internet connection that you were long denied.

I see two eventualities: One, that you’ll reach a point of saturation where you’ll overdose on the internet and grow tired of it, or, the fascination will snowball into a full-blown addiction — at which point I think you will no longer write to us about it, for fear of being told to stop.

When do you know if it’s too much?

When your internet use begins to eat into your other schedules like work, sleep, or social activities. When your performance at work becomes affected because you’re surfing the net instead of doing your job. When you’re listless during the day because you only slept an hour after an all-night bout in front of the monitor. When you’d rather stay home and surf rather than see your family and friends.

True, it’s not drugs or anything, but an addiction is paralyzing regardless of what the substance may be. Believe it or not, an addiction to anything can have disastrous results—you can lose you job, you can lose your friends, and yes, even your health can suffer if the addiction takes charge of your life.

Of course, those are extreme instances. Realistically, the worst that can happen to you is probably your roommate complaining that you hog the computer too much.

Let me evoke my oftquoted nugget of wisdom from G.I. Joe, "knowing is half the battle." As long as you’re vigilant of the possible dangers, I think you’ll steer clear of any need for intervention.

DELAMAR SAYS... How much is too much? That is a good question.

I don’t know if there are rules on how much time on the internet is excessive. Here are some signs for me personally that you’ve gone overboard with going on line:

First, you go more online than out with friends.

Second, you turn down most invitation from friends to go out just because you want to go online

Third, you have more quality time with people on the internet than with your non-virtual friends and family members

Fourth, when you need to get glasses because you ruined your eyes looking into your computer screen for hours and hours.

Fifth, when most of what you talk about are not shared experiences with actual people you know but conversations in chatrooms with your virtual friends

Sixth, when you spend weekend after weekend after weekend in front of your PC instead of going out with either family or friends and lastly,

Seventh, when you don’t really have a life to speak of outside of cyberspace.

Everything in moderation, that’s what I’d tell you if you were my friend and I see that you’re spending way too much time on the internet. Keep a balance between the virtual and the real/actual. The internet is a great tool to learn many things about everything and a way to meet people.

But if the internet is the only "real" life you can speak of then chances are you ARE going on line a little too much. It’s funny how cyberspace was supposed to draw people together from across nations and continents but really it’s ending up with people spending time alone in front of their computers locked up in their rooms.

Nothings beats actual human connection or contact. Cyberspace leaves too big a room for lying or at least editing the truth because you can say whatever you want to say and people will never know if you were telling the truth.

So to live a more balanced life you must spend also it with people you can see, touch, really talk to, and spend time with and get to know. Just keep that balance and you’ll be alright.