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People Need the Web to Feel OK

A new study has found that many adult Americans can't go very long without using the Internet. According to a Reuters article 15% said they would only feel OK without the web for a day or less. 21 percent could last a couple days and 19% said they could make it a few days. Only 1/5th of those surveys said they could go without the web for over a week and still feel OK.
A survey asked 1,011 American adults how long they would feel OK without going on the Web, to which 15 percent said a just a day or less, 21 percent said a couple of days and another 19 percent said a few days.

Only a fifth of those who took part in an online survey conducted by advertising agency JWT between Sept 7 and 11 said they could go for a week.

"People told us how anxious, isolated and bored they felt when they are forced off line," said Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, which conducted the survey to see how technology was changing people's behavior.

"They felt disconnected from the world, from their friends and family," she told Reuters.
The good news (we hope) is that the Internet isn't going anywhere so we will all be OK.

Posted on September 20, 2007
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Are You an Onlineaholic?

Sci Tech Today reports on a new study that finds as many as 10% of Internet users are net addicts.
A growing number of healthcare specialists estimate that 6 to 10 percent of the approximately 189 million U.S. Internet users are addicted.

Dr. Hilarie Cash, who runs Internet/Computer Addiction Services in the city that is home to Microsoft, and other mental health professionals, call such addicts onlineaholics and diagnose them with Internet addiction disorder.

The New York Times reports that these specialists say Internet dependency that can be as destructive as alcoholism and drug addiction.

Skeptics argue that even obsessive Internet use does not exact the same toll as conventionally recognized addictions.
There are already therapies and programs to help these "surfing addicts" overcome their addictions. There is even a name for it: Internet Addiction Disorder. Similar addictions have been reported in specific industries: game addiction, generally to the MMORPG types of games, and blog addiction, addiction to blogging. There is likely some truth to what the healthcare experts are saying but 10% sounds far too high.

Posted on January 4, 2006
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