The Internet has great potential for productivity, but also holds the possibility of harm and addiction. We should be careful when using the internet to maximize its benefits while minimizing its negative aspects.

Here are a few potential online addictions that should be used with caution or avoided altogether:

Pornography - It warps people’s perception of women and love and has contributed to the disintegration of the family and the demoralization of society. Sadly, both women and men are being affected. Its changing men’s perceptions and making them want something that is fake and lacking substance. Women are trying to live up to these unrealistic expectations by changing the way they look, act and dress. Both end up dissatisfied and hurt. Its a dangerous and real addiction for millions of people world-wide and should be avoided at all costs.

Online Gaming - Many computer games are creating virtual worlds when different people around the globe can interact. Many of these massive multi-player games have almost never ending goals that force their users to spend countless hours trying to reach them. Additionally, your virtual character’s is constantly interacting with people who portray what they want to be, not necessarily who they are.

Social Networking/Texting/Instant Messaging - Although these can be good ways to keep in touch with people you know and keep up-to-date on what they are doing, they can be distracting and cause you to not spend as much time as you should forming new relationships or spending real time, not virtual time, with your friends.

The main problem with these addictions is they warp the way you see the world or facilitate living a virtual life, instead of a real one. They can waste your life away by encouraging you to work towards achieving goals that are meaningless or unachievable. It is possible to find good entertainment on the internet, we just need to make sure our lives aren’t consumed by it. By trying to find productive ways to use the internet and by limiting the time we use it for entertainment, we can use this virtual world to enhance our real lives, not replace them.