Blogging. Hobby or Addiction?

I was sitting here wondering about writing a diary for kicking nicotine addiction.  I'm a 20 year tobacco user who has tried to quit several times and am nearing another attempt.  So my idea was to posit this question:  Would people be interested in a weekly diary where tobacco, or other substance abusers, could come to and get things off their chests while they try to kick a habit?  If any would be interested in such a diary I will definitely endeavor to provide the forum.  

But then I as I was looking up some info on tobacco addiction I came across this article from todays NY Times.

Please follow along,

I've read a lot of comments on dKos where people refer to this site as an addiction.  I don't think its quite the joke I used to think it was after reading this article.  I know that there are definitely times when I find myself blogging more than I would like too.  In my opinion blogging definitely has the ability to draw you within its clutches and not let go easily.  So much information, so many new acquaintances, so much to say, so much anger and frustration to set free.  Most of us work and have families and other interests that there just isn't enough time to accomplish everything.  So read the following excerpts and see if this resembles you.

Blogging is a pastime for many, even a livelihood for a few. For some, it becomes an obsession. Such bloggers often feel compelled to write several times daily and feel anxious if they don't keep up. As they spend more time hunkered over their computers, they neglect family, friends and jobs. They blog at home, at work and on the road. They blog openly or sometimes, like Mr. Wiggins, quietly so as not to call attention to their habit.

I will admit to days where I blog, take a break, blog some more, take a break, blog again and then notice that the day is gone and I've only accomplished half of what I set out to do.  My job is one of two things:  Takes up all of my time or  is slow and leaves me with too much time on my hands.  The former provides me with a substitute for stress relief, the latter provides me ample time to waste time blogging instead of focusing on other endeavors.

Where some frequent bloggers might label themselves merely ardent, Mr. Pierce is more realistic. ''I wouldn't call it dedicated, I would call it a problem,'' he said. ''If this were beer, I'd be an alcoholic.''

If this is you and its costing you in other areas of your life, don't hesitate and seek help like you would for any other addiction.  I go through periods where I won't look at a blog for months at a time.  Then I'll get the urge to start  blogging and soon enough I'm back to reading and commenting  on a regular basis.  But while the urge is there I wouldn't call myself a blog addict so much as a hobbyist.  Tobacco on the other hand is something I am addicted too and the feeling drives me crazy.  I'm sure thats how most people feel, who are addicted to something, that they ought to have control; that this thing cannot possibly have that great a hold on you.  Quitting always sounds so easy.  "When it becomes a problem I'll quit." or "when it starts controlling me I'll scale things back a bit."

Mr. Pierce described the rush he gets from what he called ''the fix'' provided by his blog. ''The pleasure response is twofold,'' he said. ''You can have instant gratification; you're going to hear about something really good or bad instantly. And if I feel like I've written something good, it's enjoyable to go back and read it.''  

And, he said, ''like most addictions, those feelings go away quickly. So I have to do it again and again.''

Following is more types of comments I've heard on this site:

Joseph Lorenzo Hall, 26, a graduate student at the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California at Berkeley who has studied bloggers, said that for some people blogging has supplanted e-mail as a way to procrastinate at work.

People like Mr. Pierce, who devote much of their free time to the care and feeding of their own blogs and posting to other blogs, do so largely because it makes them feel productive even if it is not a paying job.

The procrastination, said Scott Lederer, 31, a fellow graduate student with Mr. Hall, has a collective feel to it. ''You feel like you're participating in something important, because we're all doing it together,'' he said.

I'm not judging anyone because I like this place as much as the next person.  But I think we all need to keep the fact that this is just a blog in mind.  Many here frequent this site, have their own blogs, and pass through several other blogs during the course of the day.  I'm just promoting the idea that there is life outside of blogging and we need to remember that fact.  If it is your life, like Kos or some other select few, where you make your living through blog operation then that is great.  I would dare to say that that is not the case for the vast majority of us.

So read the article and take of it what you will.

Many happy returns to all of you when time permits.