Technology and the internet have great potential for good and bad. The rapid spread of information and the ability to create machines to handle tasks is beneficial however problematic. I don't see this technological boom as something that is going to save the world, nor do I see it as something that will destroy it. I think that there are some things technology can help with such as advances in medicine and creating reusable forms of energy ,to name a couple.
However, some aspects and uses of new technology are taking away from the very things that make us human. I find that some of these technologies are greatly increasing the paces of our lives. We are so surrounded with a constant barrage of information that we forget to take time to think about what is truly important. Technology can be a great distraction from human communication and interaction. I don't want to live in a world where people interact with computers and other technologies more than they do with other people.

Internet addiction is a real and serious problem. Many people become absorbed in online games or shopping to the point of it taking control of their lives. My freshman year of college I had a friend that became obsessed with an online game. He had problems with drugs and alcohol in the past and managed to quit his substance abuse; however, he transferred his addictive habits to the online game. He was spending over twelve hours a day playing online. I rarely saw him and he started not going to class in order to play the game.
Internet addiction follows the same behavioral patterns of other addictions. It is marked by a withdrawal from normal activity in order to be on the computer. Luckily, the health risks are not as great as an alcohol or drug addiction. However, it is legitimate and cause for concern.