Warning: internet addiction higher in new moms

Check out this article at cnn: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/13/mothers.internet.addiction/index.html

From the article:
"I'd heard about Internet addiction before, but always assumed it was something limited to socially challenged guys who played too much World of Warcraft. Now it seemed my Internet "habit" was slowly but surely crossing the line. Sometimes I found myself up into the wee hours of the morning, surfing the Web while my family slept. I read the news, kept up with friends, and looked up answers to endless questions. I wrote my personal blog and read dozens of others...It turns out I'm not the only mama who plugs in and zones out. Coleen Moore, coordinator of resource development at the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery in Peoria, says that she's seeing more and more women coming in for Internet addiction. They're young, they're often new mothers, and they're addicted to blogs, message boards, and Second Life, she says."

Maybe I am just making accuses like other addicts who won't admit they have an issue, but the internet I think is more beneficial to new moms than harmful. Isolation is one of the key factors leading to depression in new moms. Emails, blogging keeps me in touch with friends and family where with a newborn, it is hard to make phone calls but I am becoming a pro at typing one handed while holding a sleeping baby! I can also find quick answers to questions like "is it normal for my baby to have milk come out of his nose?" It might take me 3 hours to type this post but that is okay because when my baby needs my attention, he gets it immediately and the post is still here when I can get back. The internet has allowed us to reach out to people who are in the same place we are-especially new moms-where there might not be others close by who are going through the same things.

Plus, it is much more fun to stalk other blogs than do the dishes!!