Slashdot Mirror
No Harm, No Foul in Heavy Net Use
An anonymous reader writes "Breathe easy, addicts. A new study says there's no harm in extended Internet use, contrary to earlier research indicating otherwise. Science Blog reports on an a University of Alberta study that found it can even be therapeutic for those 'facing social isolation and loneliness.'" So rejoice, everyone reading this on Sunday afternoon.
Extended Internet use is just like extended use of anything else. There's a point at which it becomes excessive and harmful. But given the user-controlled nature of the Internet, I don't see how anything less than a pathological obsession therewith could cause true physiological harm (couchpotatoitis notwithstanding)
Look, defenseless babies!
Deep vein thrombosis can really kill a good buzz.
I have AS, and can't imagine what my life would be like without the internet. It gives me an easy way to keep my brain active without leaving the house. TV and radio are crap and books require leaving the house (or money I don't have). I can read unlimited amounts of conversations without participating or even letting anyone know I am there. This is amazing for me because I get experience with other people without the stressful interaction. Best of all, I can share my opinions anonymously!
But this one asked -- when did it start, and was it before the netting started. That is definitely an attempt to address this issue you claim it does not.
in a recent post i saw a link posted to slashdot.jp. i'd also like to inform everyone that there is also a slashdot for the spanish speaking world at barrapunto.org
Maybe you know what four-letter acronym I'm going to say?
RTFA.
"She found that Internet users on average were more likely to have sociological and psychological problems than the regular community. However,... [she] found that onset of psychological symptoms "clearly preceded Internet use," at a range of five to 22 years."
--Quentin
AS is basically a mental disorder that, for all intents and purposes, defines the average geek.
m l
From: http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/aswhatisit.ht
Individuals with AS can exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently. Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting".
By definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of their high degree of functionality and their naivete, those with AS are often viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal, individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody. Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have difficulty using language in a social context.
Not to mention the callusus on my right hand and tennis elbow from visiting certain web sites a little too often.
There is no spoon or sig.
Whoever wrote this report didn't look at my waistline.
it can even be therapeutic for those 'facing social isolation and loneliness.'
I have only one thing to say. I'm clinically depressed, and my main form of coping was to get on my computer and surf the 'net aimlessly for hours on end. This is NOT therapeutic - it is an escape from reality. Nothing - repeat, nothing - can replace real human interaction, no matter how inviting it may seem.
This is not part of my post. It's my signature. I bet you're disappointed.
I also suffer from anxiety, but I realized that staying behind the computer all the time wouldn't help me to become more socialable. I knew that I had to communicate with the outside world, even if it meant being nervous for a while. I literally forced myself to go out and see shows and meet people. It's worked very well. The Internet can great for when you're lonely or isolated, but it can also be your worst enemy. It doesn't help to build self confidence in social situations nor does it help you to better understand people. Sure in some ways, people that block you on AIM for no apparent reason can give you a glimpse of how people act, but there's much more to that. And it can be easy to take things like that personally if you don't have the self confidence and self esteem to get over it. The biggest problem for me was realizing that there was no convention to people. There was nothing to analyze or to understand. There was no reason for me to take the way people acted personally. People are creatures all of there own and you're not going to find that out by being on the Internet all the time. If you want to get the self confidence needed to overcome social anxiety, you have to understand that there is no convention when it comes to people and there's no reason to get nervous from being around them. And it all has to start with taking the inititive to get out from behind the computer and face the world. It can be hard at first, but the more you interact with people the easier it gets. I still have some generalized anxiety, but the self-confidence I've built up helps to balance things out.