For
some people, its chocolate, others, its coffee or cigarettes, maybe even soda.
But last Easter some young devoted Christians were anxious to return to what
they gave up for Lent: Internet sites, Facebook, and MySpace. Many users have
described these social networking sites as addictive which is why they say
giving up these 21
st century temptations is a sincere sacrifice. A
young woman named Kerry Graham gave up facebook because her boyfriend
challenged her to do so and she said, “It’s been hard, especially in the
beginning.” She said she had to stop herself from typing in the web address
nearly every time she checked her e-mail.Emily Montgomery gave up her access to
MySpace. She said that some people think it’s silly, because they usually give
up a food, but she wanted to give up something that’s really hart for her.
Myspace and Facebook are the largest social
networking sites on the web. Myspaces
attracted 64.4 million visitors in February, and Facebook attracted 23.6
million. Emily said she spent an average of two hours a day on Myspace logging
onto the site atleast four times a day. She used Facebook as a substitute
during the 40 say period. She said that she found Facebook boring, but people
try to be clever with Lent. Emily and Kerry weren’t the only ones who gave up
these sites, there were many others, and only after they gave it up did they
realize how much time they’ve been spending online.
But psychologists say limiting the amount of time
spend on social networking sites can be beneficial. Students who demonstrate
compulsive Internet or computer use often neglect schoolwork. In some cases
this behavior also results in lack of sleep, missed meals, poor hygiene, and in
some extreme situations, seizures.