"The trouble with the Internet is that it's replacing masturbation as a leisure activity." --Patrick Murray

I knew the title alone would get you to read this blog. Sorry to disappoint, but it isn't even about masturbation. That's one topic I won't be touching....no pun intended.

This blog is about the internet....and social networking in particular. Websites like Facebook and MySpace have exploded onto the scene, making contact with far-away and even close friends, easy. I love it because I hate the phone, so this replaces that...sometimes. I can keep in touch without really "keeping in touch".

What gets me is....how much is too much?

I bought a computer just last month. Haven't had one in my home for 7 years. Now, instead of sitting in front of the t.v., paying attention to the cats, I'm sitting in front of the computer, ignoring the cats. You can see the unintended consequences of this:

Yep, that's a bald spot on Chica. And she started pulling her fur out when I got this computer. It may just be a coincidence....or it might be that she's so stressed out that 'mom' is spending so much time in front of this blasted machine that her response is to make herself bald so I'll start to pay attention to her. Do cats brains work like that? No? Oh, then maybe it's just dry skin.

I like to come home and be incommunicado. I've dealt with people all day. I've answered the phone. I've been polite. I've bit my tongue so hard, it's mangled. Now it's time to relax. The ringer on the phone goes off. If you call me, better leave me a message, otherwise I won't even know. I might check out Facebook (FB), but I'm most likely playing Bejeweled Blitz, which is another blog about addiction all to itself. That game is FUN! I swear, it's given me an ulcer from the anxiety of playing. Great game. But that's off-topic.

Do people need to be able to contact you 24-7? No, they don't. And I think it's unhealthy when people can't live without their iphone, crackberry, texting, FB, or whatever. If you can't walk away from it, it ain't good for ya.

I know people, who when I'm having a conversation with them, will ignore me and answer an unimportant text message. Really? It was that important to ignore the person right in front of you to text someone who can wait? Maybe I'm just boring. But if that's the case, then what are we doing? Don't talk to me. I don't think folks realize how rude that is. I'll tell ya- it's rude.

Is this the way of the world now? Where nobody walks with their head held high, looking people in the eye, because they've got their heads down, texting on their crackberry? We won't even know what each other looks like because all we'll see is the tops of our heads. Yuck. There won't be any more true conversation because we'll just text or email or Facebook each other.

As a person who doesn't really like to be around people, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. And don't get me wrong. I love Facebook. But I could definitely do without texting. Hate it. I think it's the downfall of society.

I started out thinking I'd blog about social networking, when what I've done is bash texting. Guess it tells you how I really feel.