How many hours a day do you..?

[JacksEarth]

..check your inbox at whatever sites you're a member of, email, thread update?

Personally, all day.
This is quite shameful for me to admit, but I long for someone to write to me.
It is not that I don't write to other people, I do. Maybe not as many as I'd like but some of the time, the people that interest me are sort of famous but not. They have many 'fans' and I don't want to come off as just another "meh"

Ofc, I write to many that are just as you an I as well! Probably way more than I ever do to anyone 'special'

However I often get 1 response, I write back and weeks passes before I finally give up hope on ever getting a second response.

And it is a very bad habit that I have.
When I'm bored, I spend hours on just checking my sites over and over and over wishing, thinking, seeing that "1 new message!" but it's never there.
When I do get one, I'm over joyed! But it usually just ends up as being a site update or something :P

Argh.. I'm ashamed of my need for social interaction, everyone preach about happiness comes from the inside but I'm just not happy talking to myself!
I've been doing it since I was a child!

What makes it worse is that I'm not an interesting person, many I talk to, regret talking to me because the conversation dies very quickly and then the awkward silence steps in!
I don't connect with people that much =/

(I,I,I,me,me,me... So selfish.. Sorry I'd gladly help with whatever I can.. )

[loic]

I used to spend my day doing it.

Being away from the net for a month reduced that very much.
I took the habit on only checking if I have an important mail once everyday.
Now I kinda forget to check it. Being outside training all day long certainly helps, as well as not having a job at the momment.

A big long break of not checking at all will definitely kick that habit out. Find out how much more relax when the world takes care of itself

[craftyjake]

You can deal with this issue easily.

It's simply become a habit for you to check often. Here's what I want you to do. Find a substitute habit.

Everytime you feel the urge to check your inbox more than once a day, immediately start a conversation with somebody... anybody.

This will program your mind to stop checking email so much and loosen up any negative emotions attached to it.

Good luck!

[Trezker]

Often I get this done before breakfast. Usually takes around an hour.

I do extra checking during the rest of the day if I'm bored though.

[Beuford]

Maybe you can get to know people in real life who are interested and get them in to some of these online things, that way, you can send emails and messages to them and you'll know who you are talking to. Sometimes people still comment me on a blog I had a long time ago, which I abandoned. And I know how it is "1 new message/comment" eager to read it and reply. I guess we just crave other peoples recognition for what we do.

[Deergirl]

I check my email and twitter almost constantly, because I'm in front of the computer almost the entire time (I'm a webdesigner). It's an easy way to stay in touch with people, to arrange meet ups and yes, it's a nice way of distraction as well. Sometimes the work does get boring, even though I love doing it.

Once I get home from work, I normally don't tend to check my email and twitter all the time. Maybe once in the evening.

[JacksEarth]

loic - I remember a time a few years ago where I did not have a computer at all, I had sold both and spent 3months off the internet.

It was the most boring time of my life. School followed by a walk, followed by eating, followed by staring at the roof or playing singleplayer games till bed time.

It felt relaxed and healthy, I didnt have this "OMG HAZ SUM1 WRITTEN TO MI YET?!" feeling.. Instead I had "...........................yaaawn................ ...".

Well.. I think you're right anyway though, I recently got a job so I wont have all this spare time now. And I'll have money so I can go DO STUFF

Heh, I guess it is easy to get over if you have money... ARGH BLAST MONEY..
Why does it has to be so controlling?

craftyjake - I did for a while, I lost a bunch of friends doing it because they all got sick of talking to me Thanks for the suggestion though.

Deergirl, Beuford - I hear ya =)
I'm a ... illustrator/digital artist/ what have you.. I paint pretty pictures digitally. So I spend my entire day in front of the computer, its easy and quick to check all sites over and over. But it hurts my mental health, by checking over and over I get disappointed over and over~

I just gotta find a way to get money so I can afford doing stuff.. like karate lessons or something.

[loic]

I'm not saying you should avoid reading your mail at all costs.

Just that it is kinda addictive in a way, it's easy to get sucked into it. Just letting it go a bit gives you some time to do funnier stuff.

Like going to bars to meet women ,)

[Mattyyy]

I check Facebook maybe twice or three times a day; MySpace once every day; Twitter quite a bit throughout the day; e-mail several times a day. It sounds like a lot, but because I'm never doing any heavy duty e-mailing or socializing with people, it probably takes less than 45 minutes of my total time each day. Most days, quite a bit less.

[ssandra]

Mattyyy:

I just read your signature as: Come on! Get back here focus, you!
(as if the focus was a thing, a dog that you wanted to come back)

It made me smile, eventhough it didn´t say that..