I’m sure everyone has heard by now that Google is an official English word, but have you heard of Mouse Potato–you know like couch potato. I can’t believe that it is an official term because I had never heard the word thrown around until someone was talking about it on the radio. It seems like the Internet is slowly replacing the T.V. and has led to more sedentary lifestyles.
Despite the humor of the term “Mouse Potato”, it raises some series implications. For example, it means people are enjoying less of God’s great creation, not spending enough time with friends and family, and possibly neglecting to worship Christ. I realize that enjoying and spending time of the Internet can be a rewarding and educational experience, but when we become addicted to that connection we can easily lose sight of the more important things in life. I am speaking for personal experience. I enjoy working on this blog and communicating with my readers. In addition I like to read and interact with other people’s blogs on the net. Plus, I try check out the Godbit forum, email, and tech news regularly. Doing all those things takes away time I should be spending studying God’s word and hanging out with friends and family. I am not so addicted that I don’t do those things but I do feel that those times have been reduced and they shouldn’t be.
At the same time, I don’t feel that we all should go from one extreme to another. The Internet can be a great ministry and learning tool. We all, myself included, just need to be careful not to spend too much of our time on the net. In other words don’t become a mouse potato.
So I pose this question to you: Are you addicted to the Internet?
If you answer “yes” to that question (as I”m afraid I do), it is time to cut the tail off that mouse (and I don’t mean by going wireless!)