I had an internet addiction for close to 20 years. I would spend nearly all my time online, forming empty relationships and just living my whole life online. Since going to jail and to rehab, I was forcibly removed from the internet completely, and even though it was a horrible experience, it was a freeing one. I got to form real life relationships, I spent time getting to know myself outside of the online world, and these days, I feel free from it all together. But I do know what it is like to be in the grips of it.