After I finished my latest article about addiction to prescription drugs, I thought about my own personal addictions. Like caffeine, or more accurately, Starbucks Frappucinnos. And new purses. And Victoria’s Secret Love Spell.

But perhaps even worse than my somewhat obsessive compulsive desire to splash myself with fragrance multiple times a day is my addiction to the internet. More specifically, to the evil that is Facebook.

Sure, I don’t go crazy if I can’t log on for a few days to check my Mini Feed. But I do begin to feel completely and utterfly disconnected from everything that is my college life. I don’t know what events I’ve been invited to I don’t know if that cute boy I met at the bar wrote on my wall. I don’t know if my ex has finally decided to confirm his relationship status with the sophomore he cheated on me with. I mean, these are important things.

But, today, after I found myself sans internet for the fourth time in the last few months, I decided to make a change. I decided to break my addiction to Facebook.
I came to this conclusion after I stopped to ask myself why I really use it. The more I analyzed my superficial reasons for logging on each day (okay, each hour), the more I realized that I’m probably doing myself more harm than good. I use it when I don’t want to study Personality Psych. I use it when I should be cleaning up the mess I inevitably create after we smash dozens of drunk kids into my small apartment every weekend. I use it to stalk the ex. I use it to stalk the cute boy form the bar…and basically every other person that I’m too shy to approach in real life. It’s a sad sad story, but the Facebook wall has even become my replacement for the text message. Okay, sometimes even a phone call.

I also tend to use Facebook as a way to see how I measure up to the other kids on campus. What is everyone else doing tonight? What is everyone else listening to? Who is friends with who – is going where – is doing what?

And that’s just wrong.

So, I took the first step toward breaking my addiction and deleted my wall. Next, after I save the 200 or so photos tagged of myself, I’m saying goodbye to the whole profile I encourage all of you to attempt to tackle your addictions today, big or small. Take control of your own life. Give up alcohol. Kick the caffeine habit. Or, at the very least, sign off AIM and write that damn paper.

Check out netaddiction.com for more information about internet addiction.