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Dear FERFA,
I had this exact problem during the 2008 presidential campaign season. Writing quite steadily for several political websites, along with another project that required my attention to the internet, I found myself checking various sites every five to ten minutes, and rereading several articles with a frenetic fortuity in the event that there had been an addendum to the original composition. Rarely was this the case and I was left with the frustration felt by a child waiting for their first party guest to arrive.
Additionally, the problem that both you and I experience is aggravated by the fluidity of these types of websites. They are in a continuous cycle of change, and motion. This lends to us an unrealistic expectation that what subjects, or threads that we, ourselves, are keen to have had additions attached, should transform as rapidly as does the site, as a whole, but this simply is not the case.
The way in which our situations differ, FERFA, is good news for you, because I think that you hold a better opportunity to more competently, and successfully quell this obsessive need you have described. While it was for me, imperative that I have the most recent, "to the second," information to properly construct my articles, your job, health, and mental well-being do not honestly depend on knowing that something has changed the very second the thread or message has been posted.
After the elections I was still kept quite busy with political news, and although I did not require the urgency of understanding the events within moments of their occurrence, I was addicted with a compulsive need to continue the cycle I had started before the elections. I was not only guiding myself into an unneeded madness, but the fanatical exercise was folly, for so much of my time was wasted "checking in," that my speed and proficiency stumbled on sentences that when strung into paragraphs, reached dead-ends as often as conclusions.
What ultimately cured me of this addiction? A simple timer. I created for myself, a set of rules and allowed myself one quarter of every two hours to peruse the internet. During the hour and part I was not electronically shackled, I had to be about something meaningful or constructive. It mattered not if it were penning the next article, brainstorming, or even doing laundry, the point was I was accomplishing something for a determined amount of time.
I set my alarm faithfully, so that I would not forget, and considered the internet a reward for having worked that section of time. This was helpful, and over time I discovered that I often chose to complete what I was working on, unrelated to the internet, rather than rushing to my "prize."
The blessing of Psych Central, FERFA, is that whether you check it every fifteen minutes, or every fifteen hours, all that you 'missed' will still be available for you to read, respond to, and enjoy. I would imagine it would be that much more rewarding, as you would have the opportunity to have a long relaxing visit with your 'friends', rather than having already seen almost everything, and again be disappointed by the little noticeable change.
This is my suggestion to you. Invest a little in a timer that you can carry if you haven't already access on your phone or other means. It seems so simple, like child's play, but it made all the difference in my work, mood, and sense of accomplishment, which aided in my mental health.
Good luck to you, whichever way you choose to treat your "check-itis." It is a nasty little virus you have, To treat it quickly, before it can cause any more damage, would be wise.
With understanding, and in friendship,
-Fleeing Bellocq, Muse of the Mission District
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