A study of Internet users was recently released that shows Internet usage leads to less time in your personal life,
er, "real life." Anyone with commonsense and a normal I.Q. would know a survey, even a study, was not needed, especially if paid for with tax dollars, to come to these conclusions.
The survey, focused on Internet users, was primarily aimed at determining its impact on cyber life vs. real life. It shows that time spent by Internet users surfing the Net has more than likely led to less time to spend dealing with real life. The results don’t indicate if surfing the ‘Net for answers to real life questions or problems, such as how to cook that leg of lamb, make that German potato salad, checking your email, or getting information about chicken pox because of that 6-year-old in Johnny or Susie’s class who is itching.
Released about three weeks ago, the study shows, on average, that Internet users who spend five hours or more per week online usually spend less time with family, friends, or even the old reliable TV set. The results must have come to as a major shock to the researchers. From the results, it sounds like the survey was the brainchild of a socialite with his fingers in the cookie jar of a chain of country clubs, or perhaps, better yet, some junior exec at one of those ailing TV networks who wanted to save his job. With the survey results showing the ‘Net was stealing all the viewers, he could try to save his job by saying he had to "diversify." Then again, maybe it was truly a legitimate survey. If it was, it was probably thought of by a high school freshman who had to prepare some kind of report on the Internet, and this was the most substantial thing to be had.
The study, the first of its kind, was designed to give a glimpse of the Internet's impact on American society by surveying some 4,113 American adults in 2,689 households.
About one-third of those in the survey (translation: 1,371 people) said they spent five or more hours online each week. No one asked me. I spend about five hours online each day -- sometimes more, sometimes less.
Of those 1,371 people who spent five hours or more online each week, 13% (translation: 178 people) said they typically spend less time with family and friends. About 8% (translation: 110 people) of those 178 people attended fewer social events than they previously had attended. Maybe the weather was bad that week. Maybe they weren’t invited to any social events. Did the survey offer blanks to fill in reasons?
Additionally, 59% (translation: 2,427 people) of the folks responding to the survey said they had reduced their television viewing, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Surfing the ‘Net could be a lot more productive than sitting in front of the boob tube for hours on end. There are so many fascinating, educational and informational resources on the ‘Net, TV can’t compare.
Researchers said they found that every hour spent online typically reduced television viewing by that same amount. But does that statement really surprise anyone? If you are working on the computer, surfing the Web, checking email, and doing searches, of course you aren’t watching television. It’s only logical, isn’t it? Or did I leave my other head, the TV-watching head somewhere?
Oh, the researchers had one other shocking discovery. They claim that people who are new to the Internet started watching less television almost as soon as they were connected to the Internet. Now isn’t that a shocking revelation for the world! And to think that I thought that was classified as TOP SECRET information since 1986 when I first started hanging out online on a regular basis.
Well, I’m out of here for this week. I’m spending too much effort writing this column in a word processor and not enough effort adding up my five hours on the Internet for the day. Oops! Don’t tell the researchers I spend more than 25 hours on the ‘Net each week, please. They may decide to do a study to see if I watch television at all. (I don’t, unless forced to!).
|
"New
Survey Reveals the Obvious About Internet Users"
