“It was all very well to say, ‘Drink me,’ but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry. ‘No, I’ll look first,’ she said, ‘and see whether it’s marked ‘poison’ or not.’”
Chapter 1, Down the Rabbit-Hole, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Most of us are familiar with the novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by the 19th century English author, Lewis Carroll. I mention it here, as I think that it is a good analogy for today’s virtual reality world. The world that many of us have lived in more and more, at least for the past 12 months of our lives. For sure there are many good things about the virtual world. I rely 100% on it for my income these days through my online business. And “meeting up” with friends and families far and wide through Zoom and Skype video apps has never been easier. Best of all, we don’t even have to leave our homes to enjoy these conveniences.

This virtual world that I talk about is in our homes 24/7. We allow it to be there. Want a pizza? Order it up online and have it delivered to your door without speaking two words to anyone. We spend hours on the internet looking for deals on items we don’t really need, networking on social media to keep up with the latest “trends” of our friends and peers, and, quite honestly, we leave ourselves exhausted. The world has no boundaries anymore. We don’t leave it at our front door. It’s there. In our homes. Just ask Alexa if you don’t believe me.

And with it comes all sorts of addictive behaviors. So how we do we avoid falling into an Alice-in-Wonderland rabbit hole of addictions and addictive behavior, in this world that we call “the internet?” We actually need to learn to set or reinforce boundaries. A line that we don’t cross, and we don’t allow others to cross without our permission.

Here’s a few tips if you are looking to set boundaries: Don’t believe everything you read or see. Don’t buy or subscribe to everything you “must have.” And, most importantly, spend some time in the real world. Establish a boundary between yourself and this virtual reality world we live in. Set time limits on how long you spend on a social media site. Know specifically what you are going online for before doing it. And make sure that you don’t get dragged down the rabbit hole. You really don’t need every shiny, new thing that crosses your path. You have the power to control. I will leave you with that thought, in the words of one of my all-time favorite movies:

“You’ve always had the power [my dear], you just had to learn it for yourself.” Glinda the Good Witch, The Wizard of Oz.

Last Updated on March 9, 2021