Internet forum addiction

[Kim OHara]

Not to suggest that internet addiction is not a thing, because it is, but I feel that saying to someone they are addicted to internet discussion forums is like telling an alcoholic he is addicted to the liquor store. The truth is some people are deeply attached to conflict and argumentation. You see it on web forums all time. We have ongoing threads here at DhammaWheel that would compete for length with the Pali Canon itself.

To be fair, though, most of the longer threads (yes, I'm including the climate change ones ) are episodic, with each short burst of activity just tacked on to the end of the previous one but not closely related, or are more like pinboards (e.g. the jokes and favourite music threads) where there is almost no discussion at all.


Kim

[SDC]

Anything about being addicted to discussing social/environmental/political issues when they aren't the main theme of the forum...whatsoever?







(The music thread is my most active topic.)

[SarathW]

"And those monks, sire, who delight in Dhamma, to whom the utterance of it is dear, who rejoice exceedingly in the Abhidhamma and Vinaya, who are forest-gone and gone to the roots of trees and empty places, who drink the juice of the noble Dhamma and plunge into it in body, speech and thought, who, most powerful in perspicuity, are practicing the quest of Dhamma in various doctrines, and whenever there is talk on wanting little, on contentment, aloofness, ungregariousness, stirring up energy, morality, concentration, wisdom, emancipation, and the knowledge and vision of emancipation, these monks, going there from wherever they may be, drink in the juice of that talk — monks such as these, sire, are called addicted drunkards in the Blessed One's City of Dhamma.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .horn.html

[DNS]

It is important to see the full context of that excerpt from the Milindapanha. He appears to be praising all of the parts of the City of Dhamma and comparing it to labels from the mundane world, but in a praise-worthy manner. Near the end:

"Thus well planned, sire, is the Blessed One's City of Dhamma, it is well constructed thus, well appointed thus, well filled thus, well guarded thus, well watched thus, and thus difficult for adversaries and enemies to subdue. According to this reason, sire, you may know that there was this Blessed One.

[soapy3]

http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/ef ... -usage.htm
Online forums, message boards, and newsgroups are now ubiquitous. These powerful communication tools offer many strong benefits. However, forum participation can also become a destructive addiction, where the benefits are overshadowed by negative side effects.

I've been familiar with Pavlina and that article for a long time. I think this point of his from that article is the best as far as Buddhist forums on the internet goes:

7. Be a Dabbler, Not a Fixture

I've used a Buddhist discussion forums a lot. Many, many, many people are very well read. Great place to ask a question about where to go to read up on answers or find resources. That is where Buddhist discussion forums are their best.

The problem comes after you hang around for conversations. Sooner or later opinions differ, interpersonal BS happens, and you end up cultivating the exact opposite mental states you want as a Buddhist.