I would say yes to that, mainly because I go on Fluther while I do my homework, making the time I spend on here normally about 3 hours. However, I’m not on the level of addiction yet….I think.

I try to use them to my benefit, which seems to be working out for me and at the same token maybe I can help others.

Suppose it really comes down to how you feel about it, whether you are wasting time or not.

I do spend too much time on here, but I don’t watch television at all. I work at least a 12 – 14 hour day most days, and my friends aren’t accessible at 4:30 am or 10 pm, when I’m up.

I feel like my written communication skills have improved because of Fluther, I learn useful things, and I’m exposed to perspectives different than my own. Time spent on here can be positively impactful on people’s lives, as not everyone has people in their lives to whom they can communicate their inner thoughts.

Better than wasting time on yahoo answers…

the topics in fluther are very interesting at times. sometimes its just like reading a book when i read comments from others.

Along with everything else moderation is the key. As long as anyone is not spending way too much of their time on here then no it is not sad as you put it. What is sad in the extreme is when some use sites such as this one as their own personal crusade to afflict negativity & hostility on their fellow users.

I am obviously really new to this, but I find it incredibly free that you can just ask whatever you want and people will respond with their own ideas and experiences. I just find myself extremely curious about the people and lives behind those answers!!! At the moment I am just grabbing 10 or 20 minutes at the end of very busy days, I wonder if it will end up taking up more of my life????

Well, I’m retired! Play golf everyday during the week at noon….so, this is a good outlet for me to kill some time. Also, enjoy reading the responses to the questions. Usually only here in the morning. Almost never at night!

Fluther is a not a social site like AB was…they are very serious minded here about answering the questons, where as the “old AB,” we did a lot of “cutting up!” So to speak!

Hmmm think I should probably log off now and engage in some nooky with my dear hubby!!!! Only to get some real living in you understand…... : )

My Fluther time isn’t time that I would otherwise be spending socializing “in the flesh”, as it were, so it actually augments my daily social contact rather than cutting into it. Like @PandoraBoxx , I don’t watch TV at all; Fluther really is my only daily electronic indulgence. I’d feel less positively about it if it were some passive entertainment, but it challenges and stretches me in ways that I don’t often encounter in my daily routine.

I’ve always considered my time on Fluther to be quality time and haven’t ever considered it being sad or a waste, but that’s just me. I do spend quite a bit of time here, probably, but it has been a worthwhile experience for me. I’ve met a lot of nice people, learned many good things, and I enjoy the interaction and communication with other individuals. Fluther doesn’t detract from or minimize the importance of my regular, everyday life either.

All the time I used to watch TV or read novels or magazines is now spent here.

Why? I think because I crave social contact—personal social contact, not the work kind or the fake kind you get at parties. I want to talk about things we actually care about. I want to make connections with people and I want friends. I want to be known.

I also want to be lurved. I want to be appreciated. I want to be thought well of. And I don’t want it to be fake. I want it to be earned. I want people to appreciate me despite the fact they can’t stand me.

What does it matter? I don’t know. It matters to me.

I believe there’s a lot to gain from interacting on a site like this. For me it’s a chance to “play” with friends, acquaintances and strangers all together in an arena of shared opinions and experiences. I often get a new perspective of things I think more on later which is great, I always like to be learning. Is fluther addictive? Yes it’s addictive because you’re checking in with personalities you get a feel for and look to for viewpoints and there’s always someone new, someone returning, some hot question, etc.

Why would it be any more sad than reading a ton of romance novels, or shopping or ummmm, what exactly is your idea of what we should be doing?

I get my household tasks done, I watch my favorite shows on TV, I do all the cooking I could possibly enjoy, on the new pan set I got for my birthday, I play with my dog and my grandsons on the weekends, and I answer dozens and dozens of questions on the internet. What’s sad about that?

@YARNLADY I like your answer Yarnlady! I would not presume to tell you what you should be doing, it sounds like you have a very balanced life. I was just interested in opening up the question, as it is one that is debated from time to time in the media. Personally, I do think I sometimes use the internet as a distraction from what I should be doing, but life is pretty busy for me with a tribe of kids, and I am afraid that spending time surfing is nearly always more attractive than the jobs I know I should be doing!! I do have to work quite hard to limit the amount of time I spend here and on sites like ebay, though from some of the other answers it would seem that I don’t spend as much time as some!!!! I guess as long as it does not interfere with other aspects of your life it is harmless, and as pointed out by some others, even beneficial at times, ie more than mere entertainment or escapism.

I know I spend too much time here, but, it is my job. ;)

On a serious note, Fluther has been way more beneficial to me than not. In many, many ways.

I have a general net addiction. There I said it! Once about a year ago. I switched off my computer. I didn’t switch it on again for three months. I went to bed really early and woke up at around 3am (which is a fashion here in South Africa) and I went to gym. After gym I would go and watch the sun rise on the beach. I have never felt so good in my life. I didn’t allow too much TV either. If I did watch it was positive programs. So this was all against my nature.

I like to stay up all night, sleep all day, love drama, crime and horror movies, and love surfing the net.

I lost weight, I was toned, I felt positive and I coped better with life. Then I ditched it all and went back to the old me.

I know this is overshare but I guess I am trying to make sense of it myself! Out of all my addictive addictions and particularly those of the net kind, this is probably a more positive one. It makes me think, it forces me to spell correctly and is a learning curve.

But I still think it is a poor show of social connectivity. Which I need to work on. If I lived in the States for example it may have more use, as I would meet the people.

Also I think that in a country where the sun is always shining, I have a beach down the road, I should not be sitting here on a site in the semi dark. So I am hoping my old boot camp mentality returns.

I have been without a computer for a couple of weeks, since ours has been away being fixed. I have only had access for a short time in the evenings when my hubby has brought his laptop home. I have certainly got heaps more done in the daytime, though I have found myself missing my internet ‘addictions’. Wish I had the will power to only go on it in the evening, but I find myself checking my emails and getting sucked in several times a day. But maybe I would just find other ways to waste time if I didn’t have it???? :)