Mindless Television Surfing and Web Surving are Same Time Waster

OMG, I admit it. I sometimes click on story links on the internet that take me to the webstie called omg. It is celebrity photos and “news.” Every time I find myself clicking on   a headline about who wore what I chide myself, yet there I go.

Who wore the black leather pants better? Who cares. Yet they got me to click. Is it really news if two starlets wear the same dress? Isn’t it a matter of opinion of “who wears it better”?

Why the fascination with celebrities, their wardrobes, and their woes? I am not sure, yet I clicked when I read that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were divorcing. I clicked when I read Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were marrying.

I spend a lot of time on my computer and headlines are how I get my news. However, this kind of stuff is not news.

I advise people to not spend time mindlessly surfing channels on the television, yet I spend time clicking from story to story on the internet. Same time waste.

My advice to TV watchers is to watch their favorite shows and then turn it off. For me, I need the same discipline.

When it’s time to take a break from work, I indulge in a little web wandering. Be it surfing stories or reading Facebook, it is amazing how much time can whiz by.

My solution. A kitchen timer.

When I veer off from work and start to roam, I set the timer. Sometimes I give myself an hour. Sometimes fifteen minutes.

There are times that I read “real” news stories. More often than not, I am reading the fluff.

I know what movies are playing. I know what stars are hooking up with who, who had babies, and what odd names they named them. I know the fashion faceoffs even if I do not always know the young stars being mentioned.

I know what shows are on television even though I have not watched TV for a few years. I know the names of all the reality shows even though I have never watched a single episode of any.

I know if Lindsay Lohan is still wearing her ankle bracelet, back in jail, or in rehab.

The crazy thing is that I don’t care. So why do I click on this mindless stuff? Because I have lost my mind I guess.

Perhaps I would be good at trivia, but that opportunity rarely comes along.

I guess we all just want to take a breather and get away from work. So we gravitate to what is there and what is easy. People come home from work and they turn on the TV. I work from home so I turn on the Yahoo headlines.

The timer works well. I have now decided to limit my mindless meanderings to ten minutes. Maybe I’ll go cold turkey. If I am stepping away from work to clear my head, I should do just that.

Stepping outside is good. Walking around the yard is a good idea. Flipping through a magazine can take me to better places. Those ideas sound more appealing.

I will not be able to report who wears the leather pants better. But if I say I don’t care, I guess it’s time to find out.

Wish me luck.