How can I prevent internet addiction? I'm scared...

Find yourself some other hobbies which include outdoor activities or just activities outside your house. Try doing stuff like in the old days like using the phone , or the newspapers going to a library that for sure will help reduce time on the Internet.

I don't thin that you really need to worry about it. I think that everything can be addictive, I know people who are addicted to sports, drugs, sex, shopping, and so on. In my opinion some people are more pron to addiction then others, and many times people who tend to have addictions switch from one to another - I don't think the existence of internet in our world changes the amount of addicts in the population - it's just that some of the people who were addicted to TV or to computer games or to gambling tend to move to being addicted to the internet.

If you feel that you are pron to addictions, then I think you should see a therapist and try to understand the source of your addict personality and how to deal with the temptation. If you are just a common user that find himself use the internet more and more - I don't think it's addiction, just another way of communication.  

You need to learn self control and to find activities away from the computer.  It is not easy because society wants to make you think that the world runs through the Internet.

 For more help check out this Internet Addiction Resource.

For a condition that some don’t believe even exists, internet addiction goes by many names—net compulsions, internet addiction disorder, compulsive surfing, web dependency—none of which holds any official status. In fact, the contrary is true, as no credible medical association has been willing to embrace the condition.

Either way, one might safely regard the term as a catch-all holding company of sorts; a folder with no true meaning of its own, but containing any number of files, or web-related activities which have, according to the scant documentation available, shown some capacity to cause problems in one’s life. One widely quoted estimate suggests that between 5-10% of people online are "web dependent."

Hi,

I am glad that you have asked this question, as prevention is better than cure. And, the best precautionary measure is education.  If you know the problem it becomes very easy to tackle it.   Refer to: http://www.recoveryconnection.org/addiction/addiction-recovery-programs.php?utm_source=yedda&utm_medium=pv&utm_campaign=addictionrecoveryprograms   to all about addiction and treatment. Cheers!

Read this book Caught in the Net: How to Recognize the Signs of Internet Addiction-and a Winning Strategy for Recovery. I hope it'll help.

Some thoughts on potential addiction ....

Why do people become addicted to the Internet?

Addictions take the physical, mental, and emotional shape of the addictee (one who is addicted). Do not fool yourself into thinking you are not addicted to life. For if you weren’t, you wouldn’t cherish and hold on to it so tightly. 

Now there are addictions that serve a lifelong purpose. There are addictions that serve a sole self-serving purpose. And there are people who serve their addictions by pacifying their needs, wants, and desires. 

Serve the sole or serve the soul? You see, there is a huge difference between the two. Serving the sole means serving your self. Dishing up whatever you want, need, or desire. This results in the development of a self-serving addiction. These types of addiction are characteristically hard to overcome. That’s why rehab centers and twelve-step programs thrive so well. Some people are addicted for life, never seemingly breaking the spell they see having control over them. What it is, is not what it seems. A breakdown in control is the core problem. The problem does not reside outside oneself. It lies within, unless one lies to oneself. Which in turn puts the problem outside oneself by lying. 

Then there are those that get addicted to lying. So the same can be said for addiction. Thinking the problem lies outside oneself becomes another addiction. Do you see how the vicious cycle goes round and round? 

So to answer the question of addiction, one must come up with an answer. I tell you, the answers are within. And if you get addicted to finding the answers, you will become addicted to soul growth on many levels. So I ask you, are you addicted to your sole growth or addicted to your soul growth? Think about it. (Shamani) Answers From Above