Homework vs. Neopets
Last weekend, I began writing my 20-page paper on the French Revolution.
As I sat in front of the computer staring a blank Microsoft Word document, I realized that I had no idea what to write about. I glanced at all the books that I had checked out that were spread out across the floor; they all looked so thick and intimidating. And even though I’d skimmed through them, I just didn’t know how to start my paper. There was only one place to find answers: the Internet.
I started out by Googling “French Revolution.” I looked through some sites but soon I was distracted by an ad for a free IQ test. OK, let’s go see how smart/stupid I am. I convinced myself that I’m technically still doing work since IQ tests are educational … sort of.
After I answered a long list of questions I realized that I had to pay to get the results. How lame. So then I checked my e-mail. This will only take a second and I’ll get right back to my paper, I promised myself.
There was a message from Facebook in my inbox informing me that some guy requested to be my friend. I haven’t been on Facebook in weeks, so I thought: Why not? I’ll just log on and accept him as a friend. It’ll take no time at all and it’s rude to keep people waiting.
However, my “short” visit to Facebook lasted almost two hours. The guy turned out to be one of my good friends from elementary school. Through him, I reconnected with all my long-lost friends and talked to them on AIM.
By this time, I was no longer in the mood to do any homework. Talking to my elementary school friends rekindled memories of childhood. So I sought my childhood addiction: Neopets.
Yes, I know, Neopets is for little kids. But actually, it’s still a lot of fun. By the time I had earned a couple thousand Neopoints, it was late Saturday night. That’s when I realized that I really needed to get started on my paper.
So finally, I unplugged my Internet connection and began focusing on my school work.
My point here is that the Internet, although it is undoubtedly one of the greatest inventions of all time, can also be a major source of distraction. I’ve probably wasted countless hours online playing games and chatting with friends.
When you’re working on a research paper, it takes a lot of willpower to stay on topic and not IM someone after writing each sentence. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just disconnect the Internet connection and do some research the traditional way: through books. It’s a lot easier to stay on task.
— Elaine Gu