Net Compulsives

Chuck Norris is the reason Nhlanhla Ndlovu went from being a hard-nosed thug and drug addict to becoming a taekwondo world champion.

<a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/other/2011/08/14/ballito-bully-beats-booze-wins-world-title"> </a>Ndlovu was once considered a "menace" by residents in Ballito on KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast. But last month he kicked and punched his way to a Global Taekwondo Federation world championship title in Scotland. Just three years ago he was addicted to cocaine and marijuana. "I also took ecstasy ... my life was pretty messed up and a lot of people didn't trust me," he said. Tales of his fights with taxi bosses in the coastal town are still legendary in certain areas of Ballito. But he said his life changed after he was accused of stealing R30000. During a subsequent court case he spent two months in jail before being acquitted. Shortly after his release Ndlovu joined a local church, the Twelve Apostles Church in Christ, and landed a job as a security guard. He befriended Timur Kurmanov, an international taekwondo instructor, and became one of his students. He has since participated in several international tournaments. Taekwondo, a self-defence sport, is based on continuous kicking and parrying. At a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan last year Ndlovu scooped two bronze medals. Last month he was awarded top honours at the tournament in Scotland where he won gold in the "hyper-heavyweight" category. He said he became interested in martial arts in the 1990s after watching movies featuring US martial art exponent and actor Chuck Norris. "I was bitten by the martial arts bug from the time I was in primary school," he said. Ndlovu said that after every movie he would imitate Norris's moves. In 1999, after his mother died, Ndlovu was forced to drop out of school in grade 11 and work as a gardener. "It was during that time that I became hooked on drugs and alcohol. "I became quite a menace. I became short-tempered and beat up people at the slightest provocation," he said. He described his life as having spiralled out of control. "But it's all a distant memory now," he said. Ndlovu is preparing for the Taekwondo World Cup in Canada next year. Said his mentor Kurmanov: "(Ndlovu) is very disciplined ... he can achieve a lot."

Chuck Norris is the reason Nhlanhla Ndlovu went from being a hard-nosed thug and drug addict to becoming a taekwondo world champion.

Ndlovu was once considered a "menace" by residents in Ballito on KwaZulu-Natal's North Coast. But last month he kicked and pun...

Internet Withdrawal Inspires Panic, Insanity, Despair and Other Hyperbolic Feelings

My first couple of years of college, as I struggled with balancing my suddenly unlimited Internet access with maintaining good grades and an active social life, I often wondered if I was addicted to the internet. I often wondered why I was the only one who seemed to be affected so deeply by this. It seemed like none of my friends needed the Internet as badly as I did. Yet I’m increasingly finding out that, however my friends may be, I’m hardly unique in my obsessive relationship to technology. This is particularly apparent in a recent study conducted by the University of Maryland’s International Center for Media and the Public Agenda ,which had 1,000 college students from around the world go without any media at all — including the Internet, television, music players and even cell phones — for 24 hours. Their website for the project, called the world UNPLUGGED, details the results. Across the world, nearly all the students reported feeling deprived and lonely without their technology, some more extremely than others. An infographic of sample responses shows the similarities of responses around the world, in countries with vast differences in culture, political climate and socioeconomic status: From the UK: “Emptiness. Emptiness overwhelms me.” “Unplugging my Ethernet cable felt like turning off a life-support system.” “I feel paralyzed — almost handicapped in my ability to live.” From Lebanon: “I kept hearing the sound of my Blackberry messenger ringing over and over in my ears…It was haunting me!” “I couldn’t not listen to music. I listened to almost 40 seconds of a song and then I was ‘satisfied.’” From China: “I sat in my bed and stared blankly. I had nothing to do.” “The feeling of nothing passed into my heart…I felt like I had lost something important.” From Uganda: “I felt like there was a problem with me.” “I counted down minute by minute and made sure I did not exceed even a single second more!” “I felt so lonely.” From Mexico: “The anxiety continued for the rest of the day. Various scenarios came to my head, from kidnapping to extra-terrestrial invasions…” Multiple students described themselves as “addicted,” and one student from the US even said, “I felt like a drug addict.”

Internet Withdrawal Inspires Panic, Insanity, Despair and Other Hyperbolic Feelings

My first couple of years of college, as I struggled with balancing my suddenly unlimited Internet access with maintaining good grades and an...