Heavy Net users are loners, study suggests

[kpete]

oh, oh

Heavy Net users are loners, study suggests
Aug. 2, 2006. 04:48 PM
CANADIAN PRESS


Canadians who spend more time online are more likely to neglect family and real-life friends, says a new Statistics Canada survey, but experts say the numbers paint a bleaker picture than personal experience and other research suggests.

The survey, which examined the Internet habits of 20,000 people across the country, found heavy Internet users — those who spent more than an hour a day surfing the Web for fun — spent at least half an hour per day on the computer rather than interacting with spouses or children.

They also found themselves alone for two extra hours a day and were more likely to shirk household chores, the study concluded.

more at:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1154516646381&call_pageid=968332188492&StarSource=RSS

[Bonhomme Richard]

1. Hell, when I'm online it's the only time.........

I get to be alone.

[Blue_In_AK]

6. When I'm online it's the only time

I get to be with other people (besides my husband). I work at home, hardly ever go out, so you guys are my social life.

[HamdenRice]

37. It has replaced the bathroom for alone time! nt

[Midlodemocrat]

53. You took the words right out of my mouth.

[babylonsister]

2. shirk household chores...

guilty! :evilgrin:

[Radio_Lady]

11. {{sink full of dirty dishes, beds unmade}} Me, too.

But I am running a fever and coughing today, so what's YOUR excuse?

[babylonsister]

18. Dishes done, beds made, but you could

paint peace signs in the dust throughout the house. No excuse, but I HATE dusting! ;)

[Midlodemocrat]

54. One of the many reasons I have a cleaning lady once a week!

I work FT from my home, but I have three kids and a friend of one of them living with us, so the laundry alone is going to kill me.

Plus, my husband had a quadruple bypass in June and therefore, my 14yo son became the 'muscle' in the house, until he broke his foot last week.

There is no way I could do all the household chores, take care of everyone and do my job. Not to mention find time to post on DU!!

:hi:

[babylonsister]

69. Wow! For you, DU is therapy!

I hope your husband is recovering smoothly; your hands ARE full! :hi:

[Deja Q]

3. Some don't have the social skills or abilities or are

seen as freaks by the mainstream.

This one sided bullpucky is most annoying to read. (it's not you, it's those one dimensional nitwits who like to scapegoat loners... in a society that rewards bullies and urinates on their victims; saying how the victims "deserve" what they got, somehow.)

Sheesh. I'd love to have a spouse. Can't even get a date and I'm not going to go into dreary detail here but those who properly know me why I have problems in social, unpredictable situations.

And, doy, it is easy to make an addiction out of the internet.

[kpete]

12. HypnoToad

is that you?

Peace...

[Ezlivin]

4. Heavy Television users are stoners

It's the only way to get any damned enjoyment out of the thing.

I've been married 28 years and spend about 9 hours a day on the 'net. No problem because it's my job. I keep my wife satisfied and she doesn't tip my wheelchair over.

[Cha]

58. Couch potatoes!

At least we're practicing our typing :P

[EFerrari]

5. Where are my two hours and my housecleaner?

:rofl:

[soothsayer]

7. As opposed to 'social' activites, like....reading a book.

How come they're not saying that readers are isolated weirdos?

[alarimer]

8. It's either spend that time online or in front of the TV

Loners are loners with or without the internet. I am not social, have very few friends, never go anywhere except by myself. But the internet didn't make me that way. I find a lot of interesting things online- almost anything I want to know I can google and usually find the answer. Besides if I weren't on DU, I'd be watching TV or reading a book. Reading's better than TV but still an activity you do alone generally.

[devilgrrl]

9. Big deal! People are poor because they're lazy!

:sarcasm:

[KurtNYC]

10. the article goes on to totally argue against its headline

oh well....

[shain from kane]

13. And I never have time to watch sports on the TV anymore. n/t

[Warpy]

14. I was a loner long before I discovered the net

Some of us are introverts, about 25% of us in fact.

I'm afraid it's a chicken vs. egg argument here.

[EFerrari]

15. "Heavy Net Users Self Starters and WE CANNOT HAVE THAT"

:rofl:

[Hardrada]

16. That explains why all these pizza boxes are piling up here!

I was wondering.

[karlrschneider]

19. Hey, it could be worse

think Cheetos

:silly:

[Swamp Rat]

34. YEP!

:D

[ChiciB1]

17. I Must Not Fit The Profile... If It Weren't For DU & The Internet

I don't think I would KNOW what's going on. I've gotten connected with MORE groups and go to MORE meetings than I ever did BEFORE I started blogging!

Living where I do, I NEED to know what's going on.... My TV or newspaper doesn't tell me very much. Sure you may get information on meetings etc., but not exactly what it's all about.

Count me in as one who isn't more lonely! I suppose there are those, but it's not me!!

My husband does walk by from time to time with a certain "look" but I have LONG SINCE learned to ignore that look! And I've learned my little tricks regarding how to make it "not so obvious!"

[karlrschneider]

20. Me too! I keep one eye on the monitor, one on a book & type with my toes

Okay I made that up.












About the book.
:D

[ChiciB1]

22. Me? I'm Trying To Read Two Books Right Now!

And I have to clean my house before my husband gets back in town!!! I'm having a hey-day of it right now!!

A couple of beers and I'll WIZ through the house-cleaning! :bounce:

[Hardrada]

23. You Can Make Millions Typing With Your Toes

in the Privacy of Your HOME.

Contact us at once at 1-800-BIG-DEAL

[Sapphire Blue]

21. OK, we're a bunch of 'Lone Rangers', galloping about righting injustices..

(galloping about the internets, anyway ;) )



"Heigh-ho Silver, away!"

[marions ghost]

56. best laugh all day

:rofl:

[Redstone]

24. Balls. Posting on DU doesn't make me neglect my family...wherever they

might be. Anyone seen them lately? If so, please tell them I'm running short of Pringles and Dr Pepper.

Redstone

[LiberalEconomist]

25. No shit.... n/t

[QuestionAll...]

26. lone wolf here.

mostly because what I want to talk about get eyerolls and the conversation twists to 'what can i do about it, so shut and don't make me feel uncomfortable', 'i'm think of buying a new blender', 'what? you don't like to shop? what kind of a woman are you? '

house is dustier and messier than ever, but I don't give a flying fuck. It's a whole lot neater than apartments in Qana.

[Nay]

28. Here, too, QA, and for the same reasons. No one I know gives a

flying fuck about the lies, the bullshit, the environment, etc. I hate to shop, and I think people who go on and on breathlessly about what Paris did last week are braindead assholes. So I go online to connect with a real community.

Plus I'm an introvert -- an introvert who can imitate an extrovert when neccessary (at work).

[QuestionAll...]

29. I'm an innie as well. ;)

in the 'normal' social sense. but a big outie when certain topics come up whenever I'm not innerd. in my small socialness.
maybe that's why I'm an innie. lol.

fuck 'em I have more fun on the net than with flesh people, usually.

[Ariana Celeste]

39. Yeah.

Most people I know in person are disconnected with what's going on in the world, change-the-channel-when-news-comes-on types. I don't watch tv really. Just SNL, and occasionally Conan O'Brien and PBS. I don't like hanging out in crowded places. Shopping is not my thing.

I spend a lot of time on the internets, but, I also don't have a full time job. I don't have a kid. I give my pet all the attention she wants. I have very few friends- one just joined the Marines, another works a different shift than my SO so we see each other on weekends, another has a job and a baby and is a single dad, the other is my neighbor and we just drop by each others places sporadically. I don't neglect them when they are around and 2 of them are loners too. When my SO is off of work, I spend my time with him. (Fortunately he does care what goes on in the world) My kitchen gets messy and I hate vacuuming but I don't let it get out of control.

All of my family lives in other states.

However, I do know of a woman who was a net addict who neglected her kids. When my brother and I were younger, he was friends with a kid whose mom spent all hours on the net, often half dressed- this woman was so bad that she hired neighborhood kids to baby sit her 4 kids while she was on the internet- and that was just when she could afford to. Otherwise, the oldest kid took care of the siblings- the oldest kid was in 4th grade. Their home always smelled like old food, wet diaper, and dog. It was always a horrible mess. I never did see the father but knew he showed up once in awhile. (btw, I was one of the neighborhood kids who got paid a few bucks to watch all those kids while she sat at the pc- I only did it once.) I know it is an extreme case- but it happens.

[NVMojo]

27. what a dumb crap study!

[Lady Effingbroke]

30. With the increasing price of gasoline, it has become cheaper for me to

stay home and hang out on the innernetz.

[bemildred]

31. Heavy TV watchers are sheep, study suggests.

:rofl::rofl:

[survivor999]

33. Heavy beer drinking sport watchers

are pathetic slobs, another study showed.

[karlrschneider]

36. Hey. I am not a heavy beer drinking sports watcher!

I am a connoisseur of fine lager who appreciates the nuances and excitement of manly competition.

So there.

;-)

[survivor999]

38. Ahahahah!

:)

[karlrschneider]

40. Love the Russell quote in yer profile

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt" ~Bertrand Russell

-------------------------------------
:toast:

[survivor999]

41. Thanks.

[survivor999]

32. LOL. And remember that loners are gonna go on a rampage

sooner or later. Just a matter of time. :)
Conclusion: the internet is generating violence.

[Swamp Rat]

35. Survey suggest readers of The Star will believe anything you tell them.

Canadian Bacon. :crazy:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

42. Survey shows that most child molesters drank milk as children.

Other astounding statistics show:

9 out of 10 nosepickers use their fingers.

87% of bad drivers once rode bicycles.

93% of people who fart in elevators do so while clothed.

[sweetheart]

43. A study to tell me the bleedin' obvious...

Really, given the nature of a keyboard and a screen, people don't web surf together,
so of course they are alone. If they do it longer, then they must be alone longer.
If they are alone longer, they must be loners? Gosh, i feel so deductive! :-)

So, hmmm... i'm alone when i'm conjuring up this very word, and this one too,
and we share that aloneness together, yet we are both alone, and lovers kiss
behind moist wishes, and they are alone, alone forever until people die untouched
and unloved, buried forgotten in some internet dungeon where the best posts
always sink forever and shakesspear his fucking-self would tank and be hated
as an antisemite, loner dreamer playwright, indeed.

And who casts the charge of aloneness, lonely behind their keyboards, never feeling
quite like people understand the deepest real inside part of you that can never
be shared, that somewhere out there, your perfect lover worships your every word,
and though you will never meet, a romantic heart must at least sing a melody.

[Nikki Stone 1]

44. 1/2 hour to 1 hour is a "heavy user" ?

It sounds like they are trying to create an illness here

[libhill]

50. Could be

internet use is cutting into MSM time / profits. Wouldn't want people to read blogs or surf political and news sites and use what they learn to draw their own conclusions, would we? The sheeple have to believe the lies they are fed by the media. Much more controllable that way...

[Nikki Stone 1]

63. That thought had crossed my mind

Especially considering that no one is upset with 5 hours of TV watching.

[libhill]

65. Exactly -

I mean, it does make you wonder... seems to me it's a lame ploy to brainwash gullible people into thinking that web use is socially undesirable. You know, "people who spend a lot of time surfing the internet are goofy four eyed geeks with no social life, sitting in their mothers basement watching a computer screen". Watch the talking heads on TV, or listen to the ranting right wing maniacs on radio, be a part of the cool crowd. Nice try, but no banana.

[welshTerrier2]

45. all this web usage is cutting into my TV time ...

and i hardly ever get to go down to the bar to drink with the guys ... i feel sooooooooo alone ...

i sure hope that job at the Post Office comes through ...

[Nikki Stone 1]

46. LOL!!!!!

:D

[libhill]

47. Oh, horse shit

I spend a lot of time on line, and still don't lack plenty of time to spend with my wife and grand kids. As far as being loners, that's crap too. Actually, I'm a shameless flirt and party guy, and if it weren't for the 'net, I might have ruined my marriage a long time ago. The internet keeps me informed and entertained, and at home with my family where my ass belongs. And that's better than being off somewhere having an affair. Where do people come up with this crap?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

48. Let me ask my buddy.

Hey, buddy, are internet users loners?

Nope. Not over here they ain't. Tell them hosers to fuck off.

Oh, OK, thanks buddy!

My buddy says it ain't true.

[AnnInLa]

49. I'd agree with that assessment, but the "political surfing"

adds extra components. I can only speak for myself, but my extreme computer use is because I am a political junkie & a news junkie, not a gamer, or a random surfer, nor any of that frivolous stuff....lol.

Until I became extremely interested in the "new" political scene, I only used the computer rarely. Now, of course, it's hours and hours perusing the political happenings of the day via the internet.

My favorite thing is to lay down whatever political book I am currently reading, get on the internet, peruse lefty and rw blogs, listening to AAR on the radio with MSNBC or C-Span in the background. Haaaard werk, but someone has to do it.

[mcscajun]

51. I've lived alone for 17 years. I've been online for 10 years.

My 'Net use didn't make me a loner; yes, I have some introvert tendencies, but all that means is I like my alone time, and when I get tired of it, I reach out to friends and family. I also do stuff outside the house, social stuff, solo when I feel like it.

The only charge I'll plead guilty to is neglect of housework, but I always hated it anyway. No one ever lay on their deathbed wishing they'd cleared those dustbunnies out more often. :)

I still have an outside social life, but with a lot of time alone, the 'Net use isn't all negative. Hell, I met some great people way back when that I still visit with regularly via phone, and a couple that I visit in person once or twice a year.

They can stuff their survey. The 'Net has provided an outlet for loners, not turned non-loners INTO loners. What a bunch of maroons.

[WinkyDink]

52. Works for me!

[Midlodemocrat]

55. I do research on the internet for my job. So I guess they're talking

about me. I'll tell all my friends. You know, the ones who keep calling me asking me to go out and have a drink and all.

I think the study is a tad skewed. There are a lot of folks out there like me who are online all day working.

[Cobalt Violet]

57. NOW, put down that damn laptop and pick up that feather duster NOW !

:spank: :spank:

[chiffon]

59. leave me alone...damnit!

:rofl:

[Gloria]

60. I've always been a loner so the Internet is a godsend.....

It keeps me sane.

[Nevernose]

61. Which came first? The Internet(s) or the loners?

Perhaps, except for my daughter, I don't have family. And maybe I wasn't just super-great at making friends in 1979, when we still thought microwaves and VCRs were pretty neat inventions, and the Internet was just a gleam in some other nerd's eye?

Did they run serious psych analyses of the participants to determine causation of high levels of Internet usage?

God bless the tubes of the Internet(s)!

[Blue_Tires]

62. O RLY???

[shadowknows69]

64. I hope taxpayers aren't paying too much

for these surveys. Kind of a "duh" issue isn't it?

[Nutmegger]

66. **AHEM**

[earth mom]

67. I've been a bookworm all my life...

so in a way, the net is just an extension of that. But yeah I'll reluctantly admit, I'm more of a loner at heart, plus since I'm a sahm the net keeps me company...but more to the point, it's a great excuse to NOT do housework! LOL! :evilgrin:

[KitSileya]

68. Exactly!

When I hear how my students spend their weekends and holidays playing World of Warcraft for 48 hours straight - often with friends coming over with their own computers so they can play together - I remember my own weekends and holidays as a teenager. I spent most of them with my nose in a book, or walking and daydreaming. My brother read too, as well as played with Lego. I didn't have a ton of friends then, I don't have a ton of friends now, but the one thing I do have, is a job where I interact with a lot of people daily. After 4-6 periods of teaching, I'm usually completely drained when it comes to socializing, and when I go home, and see my house, I always start smiling because I know it will be completely quiet, as I live alone in a very quiet neighborhood. I usually avoid eating lunch in the main break room at my school simply because there's so many people there and the noise level isn't very different from the classroom. I prefer one of the smaller break rooms scattered around campus simply because it's so much nicer to eat lunch in a room with 5-8 people than 50-60 people. Does that make me a loner?

I hate watching the news on tv, because I always have to wait for a specific time - 7pm, 9pm etc. I always end up watching crap if I try to watch the news on tv, because I sit down in good time for hte news, and then I get caught by some stupid program and hten the entire evening is wasted. I'm a third generation tv slave, I know how hooked I can get on stupid series, so now I simply download the series I want to watch, even if they air on one of the channels I get, so that I can decide myself when to see them. In addition, on the internet I manage to keep up with world events, read tons of fanfic, and most importantly, keep in touch with family and friends in the US.

[earth mom]

70. I never realized there were so many of us!

Like you, I love the peace and quiet of my home and when I'm out and about I'm always searching for that quiet place away from the maddening crowds. I used to take flack from my parents and friends about my solitary nature, but now I embrace it and don't care what anyone thinks. Who needs tons of people in your life-complicating it and driving you crazy-been there done that and didn't like it-when family and just a few great friends will do? :hi:

[KitSileya]

71. Amen!

And do you know how many people I know that live in my town that read fanfic? No one! Know how many of my friends who live in my town who is as interested as I am in current affairs and American politics? No one! I have friends in the US who I can talk to about both, but they're 7700km away, and I communicate with them primarily thru - you guessed it - the internet. Not to mention the fact that I am bilingual with a preference for English, but I never get to use it except in class (with my students, who go to vocational school precisely because they hate theoretical subjects) and I can feel my vocabulary shrinking every day. Writing and reading posts here help, actually, as do reading tons of books my Norwegian friends either don't read at all, or read a year after me because they wait for the translation.

As for solitude and quiet, that's simply heaven. After 10 years of living with roommates, I finally rented my own appartment 18 months ago, and I still haven't gotten over the greatness of not having people around me at all times. I guess I'm a lone wolf.

[Hardrada]

72. Ensam Dronning

I am all Norse by background but I don't think Norwegian (or Norwegian-American families are too clannish) since I am rather a lone wolf too. I studied German and Latin but should have studied Norwegian too (actually I studied Danish on my own so I guess I know some bokmal). I am isolated by attrition since so many of my old close friends are deceased. To conclude: That is why the Internet is important to me. I liked the novels of T. Vesaas but I guess they aren't too current.