With the present economic
climate being as it is, many
start-up entrepreneurs have
been attracted online with
the lure of easy money. The
chance to make their fortune
on the Internet.
Many of these people are desperate
to start making money from
home and break free from the
"rat race". Ironically this
desperation has given rise
to a new compulsion:
Internet Addiction Disorder
(IAD)
If you think you might be
suffering from Internet addiction
there are some warning signs
you should look out for:
A preoccupation with the Internet
while offline.
A constant anticipation of
the next online session
Lying about the extent of
use to others.
Using the Internet to escape
problems or relieve a bad
mood
Keep using after spending
too much money on online fees
Generally those who get trapped
in this syndrome get caught
up in the biz ops game and
end up in the situation where
they jump from one opportunity
to another in an endless quest
for something easier, faster,
or potentially more rewarding.
For compulsive users, their
whole life becomes the Internet.
In fact this one has many
of the symptoms of other more
"normal" addictions! So much
so that Alcoholics Anonymous
has considered setting up
a separate division of their
organization to work with
people addicted to browsing
the Internet.
Internet addiction disorder,
as a diagnosis, is still in
its infancy, however, there
are, ironically, a few online
resources available to help
sufferers wean themselves
from the Internet. Here are
some:
The Center for On-Line Addiction
(COLA), which offers counselling,
consulting and training. They
have set up a website where
there are resources that include
online counselling, articles,
FAQs, and self-help tests.
Internet Addiction Support
Group
(Send a message to listserv@netcom.com.
Leave the subject blank, and
type this into the message
body: Subscribe i-a-s-g)
Center for Online Addiction
Mental Health Net: Online
Addiction
So, what should you do if
you find yourself becoming
a victim of this new electronic
addiction?
First, don't panic. Second,
consider sitting down with
a pencil and notepad -- and
doing some good, old-fashioned
brainstorming!
My advice is to get "FOCUSED".
There's a fine line between
being distracted by the Net
and actually being addicted
to it.
Because of the depth of information
available online, there's
a danger that instead of doing
the research you should be
doing to find the right opportunity
that you can turn into a successful
business, you start doing
the 'biz op tango' and start
surfing completely unrelated
sites.
It takes consistent effort
in ONE business in order to
make money online.
Choose a primary business
and once that is making a
nice profit every month, you
can then consider researching
other business opportunities
to add additional streams
of income to your portfolio.
This simple approach will
prevent you from going overboard
and becoming an Internet Addict.
If you dilute your time, energy
and marketing by being distracted
by the Net and actually becoming
addicted to it, your personal
and business life will inevitably
suffer and you'll probably
end up worse off than before.
About the Author
Jae Taylor is a professional
web marketer (http://netprofits.making-money4u.com)
and is currently marketing
the NPOD income-building system
designed to show everyday
entrepreneurs how to build
successful online business
models and to understand and
profit from the internet.
You can sign up for his personal
newsletter here: mailto:alcheme@making-money4u.com
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