Addiction

note- this post is copied from part of another post at my blog http://venerable-academy.blogspot.com/

Because electronic entertainment is a higher form of brain stimulation, it dramatically decreases motivation to do activities that riside in the lower domains, [of stimulation] which naturally include reading books. Because the vast majority of education, and especially of academics is reading, this has become a widespread problem, hindering children and adults alike from reacher their true potential. Even academics aside, electronic entertainment is far less refreshing than the older, or "venerable" as I will call it, methods. With the rise of the TV and radio, people have forgotten that they received equal, if not greater entertainment prior to this, and raised their children to believe that this new way was the best way of life. The truth of the matter is- not only do bookworms watch TV/movies and listen to music less, but vice-versa also. Electronic entertainment has effects similar to that of narcotics, in that they are addicting, eventually have negative effects that outweigh the good, and have withdrawal symptoms for those trying to quit. It would be a reasonable assumption that the longer the addiction, the more difficult it is to quit- as well as the greater the withdrawal symptoms.

Sometime after entering high school, my grades declined, despite being a "straight-A" student prior to that. Confused as to the reason of the difficulties, I have thought of many possible factors, but it's likely the primary factor was my hightened interest in computers, and electronic entertainment in general. Since the start of high school, my interest in electronic entertainment steadily increased- and as result I was barely able to make it through high school. After high school, I spent over 1 1/2 years doing absolutely nothing but electronic entertainment, and of that mostly visual media (TV shows and movies). Halfway through that time, I decided to start reading again, and was shocked and frustrated when I discovered I was unable to read more than a few sentences without loosing my train of thought, and the interest that I had my whole life in books had completely disappeared. I desperately looked for reasons for this, and finally I uncovered the truth, which brings us to the current state of things. As of now, I am "fasting" from this addiction, and I must say the withdrawal symptoms have been very difficult. I've spent much of time depressed, and having constant cravings. But hopefully, I believe the worst is over, and I can begin doing things "the right way".

Last night, I realized that it would do the world a lot of good to know these things. Not only would this knowledge foster and promote academics and general education, but [as a bonus] would help people save a lot on the electric bill and overall entertainment expenses. I look forward to and welcome all new supporters and members of this cause- let's work together to build a new community.