Richard's Story

Hi, I'm Rich, and I am an Internet Addict. Before I.A. my social life was disintegrating, and my wife, children and dog were packing their bags. My job was hanging by a thread, and I felt the pressures of the world weighing down on my shoulders. Thanks to I.A., and the almighty webmaster, I have regained my sanity, family and am once again a productive worker. You too can find salvation from your net addiction, here at I.A..

How did I become an Internet addict, let me give you some background. I hate to admit it, but before I discovered the wonders of Netscape, Internet Service Providers, and 28.8 dialup POPs I used to be an AOL subscriber. First I discovered the wonders of email on AOL. Suddenly I found myself writing to people all over the country, and spending an hour or two a day replying to emails from cyberspace friends. Like any addiction, it only took a while until my habit worsened. I fell upon the wondrous AOL chat rooms. Wow, what fun. I could trade going out with real people and time with my family for typing to a bunch of strangers on the other side of the country. What fun! First my chatting was constrained to the evening hours, but when I found myself creeping down from bed at midnight for intimate rendezvous with AOL playmates. I began to experience a strange feeling that maybe something was not quite right here. The thought didn't linger too long, and being the logical type, I thought I could control the urges. I limited my online time to a few hours per night for a while, but again that only lasted a few weeks. Before you knew it, I was logging in $300 per month AOL bills!

Unable to afford such extravagance, I saw an add for a local Internet Service Provider. Wow, for only $18.95 per month I could spend unlimited time with my keyboard and thousands of chat rooms. The discovery of Internet Relay Chat, FTP, the World Wide Web gave me an exhilaration unlike anything experienced before (okay, my first sexual experience came pretty close). I began logging on to check my new email account first thing in the morning, and left the computer on all day just in case I got some mail from somebody important. Cataloging URL's became life’s great challenge, and soon I knew what had to be done, create my own Web Site!

Soon my life began turning upside down. I gave up eating to find time for my HTML tutorials, neglected my kids for the sake of a good URL. My wide decided celibacy for the sake of a 17" monitor was not right for her, and my neighbors thought I had moved to Brazil. My lawn started to look like a meadow, and my boss wondered why I left the office at three in the afternoon. Suddenly it hit me, I was a Internet Junkie, a social dropout. I knew I had to get my life in order. Like any addiction, the support of others with the same problem was critical, and it was then that it hit me like a ton of bricks falling from a skyscraper. I needed a support group, so I formed I.A., Interneters Anonymous.

You too can learn from my troubles. I welcome you to read on, about the I.A. mission, the I.A. twelve step program and the twelve I.A. traditions.

Richard S.