I think the time has come for me to end my addiction. I have to stop posting comments on

www.iowastatedaily.com.

I’m a faithful reader of the Daily, but this semester is the first time I’ve really read it online. And let me tell you that you haven’t read the Daily until you read it online.

Just when you finish an article, you’re still collecting your thoughts and then “Bam!” There are 55 other opinions to read. Of course, I’ll want to read all the other opinions before I post my own, so I do. And when I commence writing my thoughts, I usually spend a bit of time on that as well.

It’s wonderful. And if you do it for long enough, you start to recognize other frequent online posters. There are people you agree with, those you like to debunk, and the occasional person with an incredible story (check out James Stanley’s comments in response to the editorial, “The big losers: Student non-voters”).

But this is consuming my life. The process of reading the original article, reading the reader feedback and then writing my own post will sometimes take me up to an hour. And now I have to stop because the Daily is taking over my life.

Even when I’m not reading or posting, I can’t stop thinking about everyone’s thoughts. I’ve made friends, I’ve made enemies and I’ve made “frenemies.” But the bottom line is that I’m tired.

I sometimes feel like I’ve said all I can say 10 times over on the election, gay marriage, abortion, freedom of speech, women’s rights, the Daily cartoons and even Christmas. So today, when I found myself writing “people are allowed to have their opinions, even if they’re different from mine” for what feels like the billionth time, I’ve decided it has to come to an end.

The Daily online has led me into what feels like a constant loop. And I just can’t keep on discussing the same things over and over. This cycle will never end (which is good), but now I’m ready to get off the ride.

Feel free to take my seat.

Sarah Shay

Senior

Mechanical Engineering