I’ve recently found myself with a new addiction. I have an obsessive, although I prefer the term “perfectionist,” personality, so it’s not a new feeling.

But my new addiction is eBay.

Honestly, if you haven’t already caved into this flashy auction site, then steer clear. As far as I can tell, eBay gets you with one of two “hooks,” either buying or selling. Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if they added in “bartering” just for kicks.

I was initially grabbed by the buying aspect of eBay, and though I never went wild with my debit card, I soon realized that this relationship just couldn’t last.

I quickly switched over to selling.

Now, in all of my experience with eBay, I think that selling is actually more destructive than buying.

Sure, you make money instead of lose it, but the time I’ve lost checking my “active selling list” does not compare to having a cute new dress show up on your doorstep a week later.

I compulsively check eBay to see if anyone has bid on my items and get completely dismayed when the red numbers haven’t switched to green. I get way too excited about positive feedback. I get furious when someone stops watching one of my items. It’s unbearable.

Nonetheless, I have no intention of stopping. Maybe it’s the stubborn streak in me, or maybe I’m more obsessive compulsive than I thought, but I will not let eBay get the best of me.

I shall conquer it. And by conquer, I mean sell all of my crappy stuff at affordable prices while overcharging for shipping. It’s the eBay way.

All of this is to say that anything can be addictive, not just alcohol and nicotine.

Facebook is probably one the most addictive websites for college students.

Don’t we all have it set as our homepage?

I’m not saying it is bad. I’m just saying sometimes we need to practice self-moderation.

I’m bad at it. Most people are.

I learned the other day that if we give up our addiction slightly, or show it a little less attention, then we can accomplish a lot more with our lives.

I gave up about thirty minutes of eBay-ing and managed to plan a trip to Orlando for the weekend.

Sure, I’ll have some extra spending money because a random man in Oklahoma bought a rare coin that I just happened to be selling, but I wouldn’t have found the cheap hotel room if I hadn’t gotten off that auction site for a few moments.

Basically when we log into the Internet, our minds tend to get latched on to one idea, one game, one website, and we become hooked. Everyone does it, but the amount of time that college students sit in a warped virtual reality is staggering.

I don’t need statistics to prove it to me either, because I’m the one doing it. My friends do it. You do it.

Just walk into the library. If someone isn’t on Facebook or Twitter, they mostly likely have a tab open to it somewhere on their home screen. It’s just that inevitable.

So next time you choose to log into Facebook, or eBay or StumbleUpon, make sure you are leaving time to live your life. Unless, of course, you are interested in rare coins, then head on over to eBay, look me up and don’t stop buying.