| Product: |
dooyoo Addiction |
| Date: |
23/04/02 (51 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Sound off about it to others, You can consider yourself amongst friends, Its not THAT addictive
Disadvantages: Ok so it is!
This morning I got up, switched the television on, then the kettle, then the computer. Then, as I do so often, closed my eyes signed on to the net (yeah I can manage that with my eyes closed) and straight to Dooyoo. Click and hiss went the kettle, Lorraine Kelly, Trisha, John and Fern came and went and before I had known it was almost lunchtime. I was still in my boxers and my hair resembled something of a shag pile carpet. In the time since I’d signed on I had read some twenty “ops” (yeah we all know what they are don’t we!) and not even contemplated brushing my tea or getting ready for work. I’d checked my email but not my post and the thought of having breakfast was trivial in comparison to the digestion of the countless opinions I’d bitten my way through in the course of a morning.
Ok folks – I have to admit it I’m addicted. Whether it’s the fact I like hearing what other people have to say about my opinions (since no one listens to me half the time anyway) or my fascination with watching those little miles mount up – I just cant step away from Dooyoo! Ever wonder why they called it Dooyoo? I mean – its like an invitation to sit there all day and babble on about whatever is going through your head. If radiation from a computer fries your brain then you’re in trouble there but I wonder if they could have been a bit subtler in the choice of name. How’s about “People’s Corner” or “Online Community?” But “Dooyoo” – I mean it just smells of invitation and if you don’t join in you’re likely to feel left out. Forget the hassle of making breakfast or getting dressed – join in a community where it doesn’t matter if you smell, look like you’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards or haven’t eaten in weeks – no one will notice and you’ll be accepted into the fold. Of course, if you really ha
ven’t eaten in weeks or smell a bit whiffy they’re bound to notice just how much you read and write about food. Oops…
Well, you see the thing about addictions is that, sooner or later, someone starts to notice you acting strangely and even society’s most notorious hermit can’t go unnoticed in the grassy hillside that is the Dooyoo camp. Suddenly you start accusing your friends of churning when they start babbling on about great a weekend they had. At parties you rate members according to how useful you think they could be in bed (steady) and in work you spend your time trying to convince the boss just how valuable your opinions are in the hope that one day he might just award you a crown. You see… it’s a world where you just can’t escape. You spend hours thinking what you are going to write in your next opinion. Suddenly the bus journey home becomes a topic for discussion and you cant wait to tell the regulars what wonderful service the bus company delivers (or not).
I wonder when they’ll set up a self-help group for Dooyoo addicts. Can there really be such a thing as a self-help group – what if we disagreed with each other’s thoughts. Could we really resist the temptation to disagree and offer them tips on how to structure their next one? Wouldn’t they run off to Speakers Corner and write themselves off to insanity; blaming the Government for not having made online communities illegal back in the nineties? If there were one, I have to admit I’d be first to sign up though only if they gave me some miles as an incentive. Where’s the fun in admitting you have a problem with something if you cant be paid for doing so? Though I’d be fearful of being rejected and lost from my circle of friends. I mean where is the fun in standing up in front of a group of people and admitting you are an addict if they aren’t allowed to judge you? Whatever happened to construc
tive criticism?
I have to admit - to myself and other people - that I find it difficult ‘fitting in’. Some days I categorise myself according to where my story best fits but then I come along and find its been moved to a different category. I think to myself one day I’ll get the hang of it and sooner or later I will be one of the long established members helping to recruit others to the wonderful world of Dooyoo. Wow! I swore! Argh! I promised my counsellor I wouldn’t mention the word – it wouldn’t cross my lips for a week. If I were to be clean I’d have to erase all mention of it from my vocabulary. Just when you think you’re over it you suddenly are reminded what it is you are meant to be giving up. Suddenly you remember what life was like before and the kicks you got from it. I’m not sure being clean is such a good thing any more.
Well, its late evening now and I reckon I have earned around 600 miles today – not enough to justify giving up work for good but I’m working on that. You see there’s a technique to making a fortune from Dooyoo and, well, I have almost mastered it. Spend your life reading and rating, commenting and critiquing and consider yourself as making a value contribution to this online society. And when you start writing some good stories you will become King – you’ll get a crown anyway – and people will be fascinated at how long it took you to write something so good. And if someone should come along and criticise your little edict don’t take it personal – they just write in different categories to you. And well… what’s the best advice can I give to other addicts? Just remember – it’s a hobby, not an addiction.
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