By LYDIA EARHART

Staff Writer

Try to go a day with out turning on a computer.

Twenty-four hours without a computer. That means no E-mail, no instant messages and certainly last but not least, no Facebook!

If you can't imagine going a day without Internet, perhaps you are one of the many college students who depend heavily on the technology.

"Students who have [an Internet addiction] don't have a lot of outside stimuli," Linda Griffin, director of the counseling center, said.

Griffin said she attended a workshop that was based on addiction to the Internet.

"Usually students don't come to us with the Internet addiction," Griffin said. "Students usually come generally because of depression or anxiety, then we start questioning a great deal of dependence on something."

Griffin said she usually sees several students a year for this.

"We don't treat it until [the student] sees it as a problem," Griffin said. "[Students with the addiction] tend to pull away from relationships with other people."

Griffin said students use the Internet because it fills a need.

"[The Internet] gives students a chance to contact with the outside world and not deal with them face to face," Griffin said.

Griffin said an addiction is something that causes a person pain or takes up valuable time.

For Leah Sanchez, a freshman English major, the Internet is one of her closest friends.

"Somewhere around five hours a day is what I spend on my computer in my dorm room," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said she likes to use the Internet as a resource for school papers and talking to her friends.

"I procrastinate a lot and, let me tell you, the Internet is very convenient for me late at night when I am doing research for a paper," Sanchez said. "That is when the Internet becomes my best friend."

Sanchez said the Internet is a good way for her to keep in touch with her family and friends in her hometown.

"I love to just sit in my room and instant message all of my friends on my buddy list," Sanchez said.

"I barely check my e-mail, unless I am really, really bored," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said she has improved on her computer skills from just chatting with her friends.

"I used to type really slow but since I have been addicted to the Internet, I can type much faster," Sanchez said.

Logan Hainley, a freshman architecture major, will not be wasting time on the Internet in his room.

"I guess the biggest thing is there is so much more in life to be worried with," Hainley said. "[Life] is too beautiful to simply stare at a computer screen."

Hainley said he is not addicted to the Internet.

"I use [the Internet] as a means of procrastination but that's about it," Hainley said.

Hainley said he is only on his computer for just about two hours per day.

"I multi-task," Hainley said. "I basically run the messengers and check e-mail while doing school stuff."

"There aren't too many that I know of people that I know of that are addicted to the Internet," she said.