Comments on: Am I addicted to the internet? Maybe, but so what?

By: julia san jose

julia san jose — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:26:47 +0000

Am I addicted to the internet? Maybe, but so what? http://t.co/MSEp9aNq

By: balaji

balaji — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 03:04:48 +0000

hi i am balaji i use the internet for 10hours in a day i will chatting with my friends and go on surfing.i think it’s an addiction and reducing my usage time because my college days are watiting for me so i am slowly reducing my hours.

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:29:30 +0000

I can take it or leave it – give me a good book, a radio or cd player, a six-pack, and the company of friends, I’ll chuck the phone in the river … so long as the bills still get paid.

But most people I speak who insist on using internet, SMS, and social media as a contact mechanism – eschewing even ordinary phone calls. They become very distressed, haughty and judgmental if you suggest otherwise – misery loves company, and condemns those who might try to bow out.

By: John

John — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:08:54 +0000

As an addict myself, but not of the Internet, I appreciate the back & forth, and wish to add that the Internet is just a tool, or as someone said, a means to an end. If I find myself abusing it vs. using it I disconnect from my human experience. If I use the Internet to connect with my family, friends, or information I feel I contribute to my own human experience and the redefining of the overall modern human. I believe the Internet is a vital part of how we socialize and define ourselves. Thank you all for your insights & opinions.

By: The Regular Joe

The Regular Joe — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:48:18 +0000

hey, I’m an addict too and I have just the app to help you
good luck brother
http://theregjoe.blogspot.com/2011/07/regular-joy-nothing-pro.html

By: Jason Thibeault

Jason Thibeault — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 23:04:58 +0000

This post (and the research study) really got me thinking about this topic again, something I have been exploring for a decade or more through academic research and other pursuits: the process of how we form our identities. Although I won’t go into the philosophy and psychological concepts involved in that topic, there’s a lot under the covers of this study that point to a fundamental and gradual evolution of the human condition. This is not fancy. It’s happening slowly and surely and our children will never look at this as an “addiction.” It will simply be the state of the world. Check out another blog post I put together on understanding how this connection between our real world selves and our online selves is being facilitated.

http://blog.jasonthibeault.com/index.php/2011/07/26/mapping-out-the-connection-between-our-real-and-our-digital-selves/

By: Rick McKnight

Rick McKnight — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:19:47 +0000

We are all totally addicted, without the quotation marks.
Trying to deny it is a clear symptom of any addiction.

By: Paul Hudson

Paul Hudson — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:41:18 +0000

Hi. I thought I’d jump into this debate, as the said CEO being quoted! We didn’t actually ever use the word ‘addicted’ in our report; that was the Maryland study that the Daily Mail quoted. I would agree that the term ‘addiction’ misses the point and shouldn’t actually be used. Which is why we didn’t. Our press release only uses the analagy as a quote from a participant. To say that we have missed the point, is therefore incorrect.

I would actually disagree with your first point also that we weren’t not bringing any ‘insight’ to the table with the report. The full report certainly does. As a research organisation that hase been conducting studies into behavioural change from technology, since 1998, I certainly do ‘leave the cave’ as you put it.

The fact is, even with all of the insight and knowledge we have gathered in that time, I was still surprised by the results.

Not the fact that people liken it to giving up smoking. Nor the limb analogy that has been used a lot.

I think you’ve missed the point in your article. 40% feel lonely without access to the internet. The breadth (40% of the UK population) and the depth (lonely is a very strong emotion) is the point here. These facts tell us how far internet has crept into everyday lives – not that it is ‘a source of information’, which is very functional; not that you depend on it – of course YOU do, your job is online as is mine. But ‘lonely’ indicates much more than dependence. And 40% is much broader than you and I.

40% of a WHOLE population feel lonely if they didn’t have the internet for just one evening.

That is the point here. The significance of that one sentence, not addiction or dependence.

By: Jack C

Jack C — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:35:22 +0000

Great point Jason. Your post makes me immediately think of how alluring MMO games have been, by virtue of the fact that they persist even when we’re offline. What is happening? What am I missing? While that sense of disconnectedness compares with taking a vacation, the fact that there are virtually no practical barriers (in an affluent society) towards remaining perpetually connected to the web is a notable and important difference.

By: Paul Hudson

Paul Hudson — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:19:13 +0000

The fact is, even with all of the insight and knowledge we have gathered in that time, I was still surprised by the results.

Not the fact that people liken it to giving up smoking. Nor the limb analogy that has been used a lot.

40% of a WHOLE population feel lonely if they didn’t have the internet for just one evening.

That is the point here. The signficance of that one sentance, not addiction or dependence.