Is This An Addiction? and other things

No, I'm not addicted to Meth, or Heroin or anything like that, but my parent believe that I might be addicted to the Internet. I'm not really sure if that is completely true because it isn't the Internet itself but the information I can get and the connections I can make and have made. Including but not limited to my boyfriend who I met and communicate with over the Internet. This does not include the homework and other school and searching for decent paying work things that I do.

OK, so I spend a lot of time on the Internet, pretty much as soon as I get up, and then any studying I do during the day, and then again during the evenings until late into the night. Yeah, maybe I'm addicted, but at least it isn't something that is going to hurt me in the long run.

In another completely unrelated matter.... I'm not really sure how to say this. But I have been noticing lately alot of parents losing their tempers with their children. I can understand some anger and frustration, but some of these parents seem to be going overboard with what they are angry at. I saw one harried mother of one about eighteen month old shake him because he was reaching for things in the grocery store. She didn't shake him enough to injure him, but it seemed outrageous to me.

I guess since I work with children and have experience with babies who are upset and acting out I just have no patience for parents overreacting. I deal with children with disabilities and children under two years. I know that anger does not help, and that if you get mad you may cause all sorts of problems in the future or just exacerbate the problem now. I only hope that if and when I become a parent I am able to control any frustrations that I may feel.

I know that hitting and yelling at children isn't good, I lived through some of that so I think I will always fear that someplace inside of me I am capable of doing the same thing to my own children. I know there is a strong barrier within myself to that, but I don't know............what if it isn't strong enough? All I can do is find a way to cope and find a way to make myself strong enough not to let what was done to me ruin my own future.