After a long day at school, teens come home and do a number of things to relax. Some kids play a sport and others watch TV. But many can be found online talking to their friends through instant messaging.

It is perfectly healthy to take an hour to break away from the stress and chat with a friend. For some teens, though, instant messaging is becoming a distraction, or even worse, an addiction.

Instant message services like America Online Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger are free and easily accessible. It makes communicating with friends simple and fun.

Instant messaging is like a mix between e-mail and a phone call. Correspondents can type messages back and forth and receive them in an instant. Unlike a phone call, instant messaging allows you to talk to as many people as you’d like, all at the same time.

Instant messaging became popular in November 1996 and was invented by a company called Mirabilis. The first instant message service was ICQ (I Seek You). Shortly after this invention, AOL came up with its own version, AIM. Then there was an explosion of instant messaging services.

AIM, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger have made customization very easy. IM’ers are able to create their own screen name (e.g. 2cul4u, Q_T_pie). All of the people you usually chat with can be put on a buddy list. The buddy list shows when the IM correspondents are online or offline, if they are away from their computers, and how long they have been online. IM’ers also have the ability to send pictures, create their own away messages when they are away from their computers, send links and files, invite their buddies to a chat room, and ignore or warn a buddy who is acting inappropriately or rudely.

Because instant messaging is so popular, many kids have the desire to be online often. Some kids leave their IM on overnight and while they are at school. If teens are just talking to teens online, then whom do they leave their away messages for while they are out of the house or sleeping? Why waste valuable energy by leaving the computer on when not using it?

When teens are online for hours and hours, staying up late to talk to their friends, the loss of sleep causes them to slack off in school. When grades start slipping because of the need to be online, the need has become an addiction.

There are no limits to the amount of time that can be spent online. The only limits are the ones people set for themselves. If you are finding yourself skipping homework assignments, staying online for more than two hours, or staying online until late at night, instant messaging could be an addiction.

Having a social life is important, but if it affects your learning in any way, you should reconsider the consequences of your actions. Set rules for yourself such as doing all of your homework before going online or signing off after an hour. Don’t let instant messaging become an addiction for you.

-Return to February 2005 Issue-