(Minghui.org) I had been indulging myself in surfing the Internet and playing video games. I learned that people who are not addicted to drugs will never know how harmful an addiction to the Internet can be to one's body and soul – it can literally destroy a person. Being addicted to the Internet can be even worse than a drug.
I wasn't always so addicted to the Internet over the past 20 years: becoming obsessed with and manipulated by this kind of technology was a process. As long as we cannot see it for what it is and eliminate it, we can fall prey to its pervasive effects.
My preoccupation with the Internet and computer games grew over time. Now, thinking back, as soon as I started to turn on my cell phone or computer, I felt a demon extend its antennas, surround me, and begin to suck the essence from my body.
Gradually, I became more and more tired. I ended up just going through the motions by moving my mouse to browse some trashy websites. When I was totally exhausted, I had a hard time breathing, and my health declined. I lacked interest in anything – I felt numb, hollow, and weak.
Master said:
“This universe has a principle: “no loss, no gain”. What does it obtain? Didn’t I just address this issue? It wants to acquire the essence in your body” (Zhuan Falun)
When I looked out the window at pedestrians, I realized that everyone—male or female, elderly or young—were all bent over or had their heads lowered.
There was rarely a person who walked upright as if everyone's spine was crooked. In my opinion, the Internet has taken control of us and is drawing energy from us to make itself stronger and more powerful.
When we are checking our cell phones or playing video games on computers, we probably do not think too much about it. However, the Internet is full of negative information, including things that undermine one's morality, such as pornography and violence.
When we do not dispel them, they insinuate themselves into our thoughts. Web developers are using keywords to nail down what people are interested in.
Some platforms and software that allow one to interact in chat rooms have been treating bad as good for the sake of gaining popularity. As a result, people who participate in them become more agitated and depressed, and that amplifies their demon nature.
As mentioned in The Ultimate Goal of Communism, the Internet in China has played an important role in undermining human culture.
For example, I have a coworker who was always very quiet and had no interest in fame or profit. She began to play electronic games on her cell phone and became addicted.
Through chatting with her, I realized that the object of the game she was playing was to cheat all the other players to reach the top. That is teaching people to lie. She could not snap out of it. She even went as far as to play the game while she was driving.
A friend who has connections with people that work for a famous online chat company said that the company actually has a department devoted to psychological research. They research ways to lure teenagers into getting addicted to computer games so that the company can make a profit. We are literally harming our next generation!
One of my cousin's children stayed with my mother during her summer vacation. She was very kind and innocent, and she appreciated traditional Chinese culture. She thought that Dafa was good. She could also see through the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). When I showed her a copy of Zhuan Falun and other truth-clarification materials, she was open to reading them.
However, her cell phone kept beeping, which made it hard for her to concentrate as she was reading Zhuan Falun. It's already so difficult to find a righteous path in today's society!
I'm asking people to stop using the Internet. We should listen to what Master Li has to say. Especially in China, the CCP has been using the Internet to brainwash and exert control over its own people. The evil specter of the CCP wants to destroy human morality.
I have been using an old-style cellular phone for almost a year now. Interestingly, nobody looks at me strangely, but, rather, they truly admire me! I now have more time for Fa-study and looking inward to overcome my shortcomings.