Why choose a glass of wine over internet?

We'd often say that, wouldn't we? If we were in the scenario? Like hell, you wouldn't! We have to admit that the Internet has made life a lot easier for us, by making information easily accessible, and creating connections around the globe. However, it has also led a great deal of people to spend too much time glancing relentlessly into computer screens and cellphones; so much so that they tend to become the center of their lives. Imagine having your best mate throw away your cellphone, one that had about 5GB of data allowance left. I bet that nothing apart from social convention could stop you from driving a stake through his/her heart. Or perhaps you've already skinned him/her alive in your head. Astonishing, isn't it? Symptoms of internet addiction can sadly be seen in an alarming lot of people, especially young people; in fact, every fourth youngster in the world now. (Statistically so stated in a publication on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website. The study was conducted by the Department of Adult Psychiatry in the Poland Medical University.)

Too much online surfing has led to decreased productivity in individuals and reduced interactions between. Also internet has come to acquire the power of compulsion over us. People are preoccupied with their previous or future online activity, to the extent of growing restless, irritable or anxious when the same are deprived of it, even for a short period. I recently read an article about a newly developed mental condition termed Nomophobia ('No-Mobile-Phone-Phobia'). Seriously? Who thought that the human race would come down to this? People have also found the Internet to be a means of escape from, or rather we say 'an excuse to ignore' real-life problems or as relief from a challenging mood.

But what I really want to emphasize, however briefly, in this article is the aggressively evolving issue of addiction to cybersex and cyber-relationships. Excessive use of social networking and porn sites have created pseudo-relationships and fantasies in people's minds, which in turn have affected, if not destroyed real-life relationships with friends, family and spouses. There was a time when people sought the pleasure of a glass of wine with their dear one, cooked hours for a single dinner, sat at the beach holding hands, built castles in the sand. But now those simple pleasures of life have now been replaced by 'Clash of Clans' and 'Call of Duty-Modern Warfare *something *something'. The thrill of browsing across a local market-place on foot has been replaced by 'myntra.com'. Perhaps a man wouldn't even bother looking into a woman's eyes and saying, "You look particularly exquisite tonight." And the woman wouldn't bother looking up to the man either, for that matter. Why even walk out of one's doorstep if emotional attachment and sexual relationships with compatible individuals can be replaced by social media and porn sites?

Along with the psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, isolation and agitation, addiction to the internet also exerts physical symptoms, like backaches, headaches, fluctuation of body weight, disturbances in sleep and blurred or strained vision. So what would you rather do now, after reading this article? Facebook? Skype? Twitter? As for me, I think I'll get a few bottles of wine to stock up my cellar, and wait for my friends to come over.

– By Bruce Momin