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Log on to life!
LELAND ACKER
We're really blessed to be living in the time

in which we live. Computers are seen by some as a necessary evil, a nuisance, a useful tool or even a lifeline. (Some can't live without computers.)

Without computers, I would have never worked in newspapers.

To hear Mrs. Whitehead tell me about hot type, lineotype machines, dark rooms and paste boards convince me that I would not have made it in the Whitehead Enterprises organization in the 1950s.

With computers comes the internet, which has revolutionized communication. Because of the internet, I can communicate with my brother-in-law who is in the Marine Corps. in Iraq.

During every other American war, soldiers wrote letters home and hoped to receive letters from home. These letters took weeks to reach their destinations.

Today my brother-in-law sends a message to my MySpace account and I promptly reply, allowing for day-to-day communication between the soldiers at war and their families and supporters back home.

A few weeks ago, I bought the latest version of Microsoft Office and installed it on my computer, all without having to go to the store.

I purchased it and downloaded it from the internet, and installed it.

Computers allow me to better track my finances, assemble really good-looking documents, and communicate to friends over the internet, some of whom I have never met in person.

Computers are a useful tool, but like all tools, they are only as useful and good as the skills and intentions of those using them.

Just as a hammer does not replace a good carpenter, neither can a computer replace good parenting and community involvement. Just as having a good buzz saw doesn't necessarily mean you'll have good, straight cuts in the wood, being good at MySpace does not insure quality marriages.

As more things go online, I am noticing the trend toward self-isolation.

People isolate themselves and spend their free time on the computer.

Some join online networking sites (i.e. MySpace), some play network video games, and some stay on message boards and chat sites.

They spend their days on these sites while their families, friendships and careers fall by the wayside.

The problem has become so widespread that internet addiction is now being considered a disease.

The good thing about this disease is that no drugs or doctors' visits are necessary. All that is needed to cure this disease is a return to reality.

Step away from the computer, take the kids to the park and invite your friends to dinner.

Computers are good, but only if used properly. They have afforded us enormous conveniences and capabilities.

However, the misuse of computers has wrecked careers, ruined families, destroyed homes and lives.

Don't become infected with the disease. Get up. Get out. Get involved. Check e-mail later. chreporter@mediactr.com