Why the internet is addictive. And I am an internet addict. My thoughts.
... I am not an expert, but this is my experience. I get on the computer, and I cannot stop. I go from this site to that site, get some information, feel good that I learned a little, and go to another site for the same experience. Sometimes, I go to my email, (I have 2 emails) open them up, read the new emails, and then move on. So, I move from email, to financial stuff, to this site and to that site.
... I enjoy getting new information about whatever I crave information on. (and that is a whole lot) I used to go to the library for this kind of info. But now the library is the internet. Further, and this is my experience, DU is a library of all kinds of current and not so current information. I can repeat the process at DU and never leave the site, since there are so many different sites for information right here on Democratic Underground. (these places are called topics, and I can get subscriptions to different kind of "topics" from Comic Books to Rural and Farm Life and to this or to that. (not a criticism, just an observation).
... It is extremely addictive and dangerous for me. I have had some health problems, and sitting for long periods of time, is not good for me. I need to get up, do this or that, and then sit down for a while. And, I am lucky that I can indeed get up and do this or that, and then sit down again. And I am grateful that I can do this.
... But I love the feeling that I get from bouncing around the internet from here to there, and I get new information all of the time. I suspect, (no, I do not know) that bouncing around the internet is very similar to gambling. I get some info on this or that, feel good and repeat the action, over and over and over and over and over and over. And it is basically free. Sure, there is a monthly charge, but that is not a whole lot.
..Yes, I can go to the library, and sit for free. (at the local library I can go and sit for free with other people who are using the internet. Yes, there is a time limit, but usually there are a lot of computers for this kind of use, and I can get more time in many ways..)
....I got a timer next to the computer, and try to measure the time, but it doesn't seem to work. I over stay my time. Why? I love the information gathering experience. Sometimes, I can go to You Tube and be entertained, and the story repeats itself over and over and over and over. (Lots of stuff at You Tube too) Oh, I forgot, there are games of all types on the internet. I like card games that I can play with myself, and I play them over and over and over. (my favorite currently is something called, "Spider Solitaire) The computer keeps track of my wins and loses, and tells me the total of how many games I have played. And guess what? The addiction repeats again, over and over and over and over just playing this game.. (I like to win this game, although I win rarely)
.... What to do?...I know what to do, and I don't want to do it. (sound familiar?) This particular topic place is Addiction & Recovery, so I thought I would share this problem with people who might have information on certain types of ....."addiction." If you got this far, thank you for reading this. And, I would greatly appreciate any ideas of any kind on this subject.
..........Thank You Again,
.......... Stuart G
= new reply since forum marked as read
Much of the framework of your experience is familiar to me, I've been dealing with it in varying degrees since around 2000 or so. When i was a kid I read everything I could get my hands on, and a lot of that love and energy for the written word eventually shifted to the online written word, with the added bonus of internet forum interaction. But - somehow, reading a book for three hours seems a lot more respectable than being online for three hours. 
Over the years I've tried going cold turkey, giving myself an allotted period of time, creating different rules of engagement, and here's what I've learned about myself, and maybe something may resonate with you:
1. If at all possible, don't start the day online. Make yourself wait. Past your first cup of coffee, past your walk, your breakfast, your shower... wait as long as you can, because the minute you give in to that impulse to see if you 'missed any big news overnight' the wheels of your day's best-laid-plans are already grinding to a halt. If you work, wait until you're at work. If you don't work, try to make it the thing you do right after lunch. I promise you, your mornings will be so much more productive...
2. If you can, try a one-day detox. You'll be amazed at how different the day is, because a lot of us have forgotten what it feels like to be untethered from the internet. Think about how different it feels, really be aware of it. Revel in it even, if you're not too miserable. 
3. If your one-day is successful (it takes a lot of self-control for me to make it through the day), make it a weekly thing. Full disclosure: I'm not there yet, but I've had some small successes and it's been encouraging.
4. I've dealt with depression. Speaking only for myself here, being online can be numbing, and there are many times I wanted to be numbed - the day was quicksand already anyway, right? As I've battled up one hill only to slide down into the next ditch, I've been aware that how much I was online seemed to be correlated with how well I was doing. I'm saying correlation because I don't know causation. Was I online because it was a already a bad day depression-wise, or was being online for hours a catalyst for a bad quicksand day? I don't know the answer to that.
I do know that being online changes your brain. The way you read isn't linear, like book reading. Your eyes move all over the page, looking at this headline, over at that graph or cartoon, up at that photo header, down to the comments... for many of us, our attention spans are getting shorter, too. We want everything quick, and a book that we might have been willing to stay up half the night reading now seems too daunting. Easier to read an article...
Anyway. Sorry for running on. I wish you all the best, count every small success as an encouragement to keep moving forward, and if you fall down, get back up and keep going until you find the best life balance for you.