3.Idea - Ask yourself sometimes "why do you use the computer?"

 One of my friends was asked following question:
Why do we use computers?
Is it because we like the entertainment opertunities they provide?
Is it because they make our lives easier in some way?
Is it because of technical curiosity?
Is it merely because it's a job requirement in some way or another?
His responce was this:
I think it's not because of any one of those reasons, but rather a mix of them all. Personally I use computers because it allows me to express myself in ways that is otherwise impossible or very demanding of me. I express myself in various ways, through my interaction with other people online, either in mmorpgs or through collaboration with other people online, across borders, great seas and time zones. Were it not for a computer or the internet, then this sort of collaboration and socialising wouldn't be something I'd be able to partake in.
The computer has enabled my mind to expand in much the same way a bike allows you to reach greater distances than if you were merely walking; I've both learned a lot personally but also acquired a vast amount of technical skills and abilities which might allow me a good job in the future.
But there is one thing to take heed of with computers; the ability to consume entertainment of all kinds. Either through online social networking sites, mmorpg addictions and other sorts of online and offline gaming.
Gaming on a computer allows you to experience worlds and landscapes unlike any in the real world, it can give you experiences that simply isn't possible to have in the "real world" for instance in one game you might be a criminal from eastern europe setting foot in new york city and trying to make ends meet and through this character you interact with other characters in a world thats not unlike the real New York, but not quite real. In another game you might control a band of merry adventurers
off to save a given fantasy under- or world.
Through any and all these experiences you might be presented with moral choices and ambiguity, that might make a philosopher ponder your choices and the implications for decades. Or you might work together with other people in a scifi universe trying to carve out your little share of the world, whilst fending off pirates and invaders from bigger and more powerful empires than the one you're trying to build with your friends.
Theres definitely a lot to do in the gaming world of computers and it's easy to see why one might get addicted to these sort of experiences - real life can simply pale in comparison.
And thats where a computer and it's usage can become dangerous for most users of computers, when it stops being a means to an end. But becomes the end itself, no longer the enabler of the mind, but now the enslaver; constantly the user must have more and prettier more engaging experiences to keep him or her entertained. And everyday turns into a wonder of what should I play now? what experience should I have now? you stop learning and you start simply consuming, over and over you must buy the next or newer version of your favorite game because the addiction must be fed to keep you happy, nothing else will do anymore, only a new game, with new experiences puts a smile on your face.
Then you know you're addicted and you must try and work yourself out of the addiction, one way to do this is simply to stop using the computer. But why should you be bereft of all the good things a computer offer afterall, so a more workable approach would be to think about what got you using a computer to begin with, maybe you liked to write stories or a diary. Maybe you're technically minded and so you should take up a programming language and see that learning something new can be fun and engaging as well.
Or maybe you have an eye for art and should begin drawing or editing pictures with a picture editing program. Or you might be good with music and so should look at trying to create some yourself - theres a multitude of music editing software for all operating systems just a download away.
Remember a mind is a terrible thing to waste, so stop wasting yours and begin learning again, with your computer. Don't be enslaved by games.

I agree with most of it and would also add that for me personally games are also a way to share "something" with other people. This "something" can be many things but it gives me joy to feel like I am part of "something".

To sum this up - people should sometimes stop up and ask themselves "why do I use the computer?". I guess this is Idea no.3