Several years ago, people were hooked on television. Remember all those studies linking TV viewing to bad grades and attitudes back long long ago? Or how parents used to say that watching too much television hurts your eyes? Those times seem so far away now that the era of speedy computers and wireless networks have arrived.

Personally, I don't watch much TV, unless you count when the news channel is on around dinnertime. In fact, I don't think I've watched all that much TV ever in high school, unless you count movies.

Why? Because of my computer and the Internet, of course! With sites like YouTube and Veoh, who needs to tune into a specific channel at a certain time to watch a show you don't even know a thing about? Why check the TV Guide anymore when you can watch anything at any time?

As a sixth grader, when I didn't know about YouTube and had just dial-up, I recall spending endless hours playing "Pinball," "Freecell," "Hearts," and "Minesweeper." Instead of spending my time in front of the box hoping to watch something other than news, I would be furiously hitting the z and / keys in hopes of keeping my pinball from dropping and trying to beat my own record of 10 million points. The music wasn't too bad either, and it was pretty easy to lose track of time, especially on the full-screen mode.

When I entered my subbie year, I discovered the joys of a superfast computer. Not only could I browse any sites that I wanted and play games online, but it didn't take long for those Web pages to load. Whereas it took my home computer several minutes to load a graphics-intense page, a PC connected to a cable took a couple seconds, tops.

That being the case, I discovered the world of online gaming. The two that I spent the most time on were "Neopets" and "Gaia Online." On "Neopets," I had four virtual pets and took care of them (i.e. fed and played with them). When I wasn't doing that, I was accumulating gold and other items by exploring the Neopian world and playing games. Sometimes, I also interacted with other users via the chat and guild boards.

"Gaia Online" is a more forum- and discussion-based site, geared more toward the teenage population/college population than the children/tween population of "Neopets." An avatar represents you as you talk with other people; you can dress your avatar up however you want with the gold you earn by posting, trading, or playing games.

I played those two games for some years. I quit "Neopets" a year ago or so, due to finally getting bored of it. However, I am still active on "Gaia Online." Maybe it's the thrill of obtaining a good bargain on a trade or of conversing with others that still keeps me attached to the site.

At any rate, I'm not wasting away my time in front of a TV. But in front of a computer screen.

Like millions of other people right now.