There, I said it. They say that admitting is the first step to recovery. In my case, however, I doubt I would.

Although far from being a tekkie, I embraced the commercial launch of the Internet back in 1995 with wide, welcome arms and have been avidly online since. I even learned html and offered Website design and development soon afterwards. As a hobby at that.

When social networking sites started cropping up, I got into them, too: SixDegrees.com, ICQ Buddy, MySpace, Multiply, LinkedIn, Flickr, and even the biggest disappointment in Internet history (so far), Friendster. Of course, I also use communication tools like Yahoo Messenger, Chikka.com, GoogleTalk, and later on, Skype. And yes, I also blog and Tweet.

Anyway, I was disheartened by those social networking sites. Poor design, not much interaction and growth, and just plain boring. So when Facebook came into the picture, it took me three years to actually create an account. Once in, though, I was hooked. I was able to reconnect with friends as far back as primary school and relatives all over the world. I’ve joined and advocated causes, created fan pages, kept abreast of what’s happening internationally without having to open a single newspaper page or visit a news site. I get to share photos and videos of my family and keep in touch with everyone dear to me. Facebook keeps me entertained, too. Not only with the videos posted by other users, but more by the games. Yes, you read right. Games. My spiritual director actually laughed when I confessed this fascination of mine, hearing my struggle with temperance when it comes to playing online games.

Truth be told, one of my motivations for getting up from bed each morning, despite the lure of sleeping in after a late night, is that my spaghetti would spoil if I’d leave them on the stove or that my crops would rot if not harvested on time (Same goes at night, before I hit the sack, I make sure the dishes on the stoves will take take as much time as I need to sleep.). If you’ve played these games, then you know I’m referring to Café World and Farm Town. Mafia Wars and Sorority Life? I played them, too, although not as zealously.

I got the flu last month and stopped playing, getting a headache and finding the goals too competitive and stressful. I havent played any online game since. But I still actively log onto Facebook everyday, read posts, make posts, click likes.

Added to that, I Tweet as often as I can and recently got hooked on Pinterest, too. Bringing my social media addiction to a different level.

So for the Lenten Season this year, I am abstaining from Social Media. But hey, I am only human and couldn’t fathom staying away from Social Media the whole season. I can and will, however have a Friday Facebook-Twitter-Pinterest Fast. If I can do away with Facebook more than that, it would be great for my soul. Otherwise, the Friday Fast would just have to do. Baby steps for an addict like me.