"Adik sa'yo"

Source: http://www.tipb.com/2010/04/15/highly-addictive-iphone-ipod-touch-games/

She almost treaded on the path of ruining her med-school life. In her own words, “Bigla na lang ako nahihimasmasan after almost a week. Mabuti pa ‘yung Sims character ko naayos ko ang buhay.”

He would wake up early every school day, eat a hearty breakfast, change into school uniform, receive his daily allowance from his mom, and step out of the house. But he would not proceed to school. He would instead go straight to his favorite computer shop and spend the whole day playing DotA there. He is now 25 years old but remains a college dropout.

These are instances of computer addiction, which could be dangerously unhealthy and ultimately mess up lives. The addict becomes boxed with the computer and loses his socialization skills. His world becomes smaller and smaller. In other cases, he develops a virtual world and loses touch with reality.

With the continuous advancement of ICT--coupled with the unstoppable development of Internet connections that provide for faster and faster services and the plague-like emergence of online games--cases of computer addiction also multiply. What is more disturbing is the fact that even the most “human” activities are slowly being replaced by virtual versions. And this also applies to equally addictive cellphone games and applications which were originally created for killing time. "Have you cooked in Café World?" "Oh, you have harvested in Farmville!" "But have you tried saving the world in Warcraft?" "Of course, I even danced my way to stardom at Audition!" Computer addiction has become so prevalent that one Filipino psychologist gets sessions with 70 addicts a month for Emotional Touch Therapy.

It is said that the following are the symptoms of computer addiction: 1) insomnia; 2) difficulty in paying attention to conversations; 3) pain in the nape area; and 4) preference on being alone. So, how addict are you? (Watch this video to find what happens if you spend too much time in front of the computer)

-Phebean Belle A. Ramos, entry #3