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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.
All these studies have ever proven is that there may be a correlation between heavy internet usage and loneliness / depression. The problem they completely ignore (or perhaps the ones ignoring it are the reporters writing about it) is that correlation does not prove the direction of causality. Does the internet make you lonely, or does being lonely make you want to use the internet?
As long as the circumstance of isolation aren't CAUSED by the Internet use, I'd agree. Right now I'm living at home with only about 20 other people in my village, and the Internet is a great way to discuss politics, and technology with other interested people. But once I'm back in a city, I'll be spending less time on the computer, and more time out in the real world meeting real people and talking face to face. I'll have to get used to not saying "LOL", and get my point across the old fashioned way.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
The research also showed that the Internet group reported a greater tendency toward membership in voluntary organizations and a higher level of helping others.
Yup. Worked 55 hours a week, took a light load of classes and joined a community group - all thanks to search engines, online documentations and wishing it be so. Soon, I had a decent job, and with the downturn in the economy I still am able to work in a computer related field. Definately not bad for my experience.
However, after a week or so of continual use of a monitor under flourescent lights, my eyes kinda twitch like.
Another thing, every once in a while if I make a mistake off of the computer, like putting too much pepper in the stew, or throwing a paper-wad and missing, I find that my first instinct is to CTRL+Z!
Stuff that matters.
Tell that to my ISP who just sent me a notice telling me that I use 2000% (no, not a typo) more bandwidth that the average user and that if I didn't stop they'd cut off my service.
What about the guy who died in the internet cafe (I think it was dehydration in South Korea) and the guy who was too busy playing Everquest to make sure his child didn't die?
On the other hand, I've used the net for probably some 4 hours today alone, and it may well have some role in molding the well-rounded individual whose post you're currently reading. Hmmm... Another good reason I don't have kids, I guess.
I have to second that. My personality is very predisposed to not being social. I really enjoy spending time with other people but unless I make a concious effort to do so, I'll never get around to it. When I was a kid I would spend most of my time building with legoes, errector sets, or even sticks and dirt in the backyard. I would also draw alot or just spend time daydreaming. I would never think to see what the other kids were doing, and so the only time I would play with them was when the came over and got me. When we got a computer it really didn't change anything - it was just one other thing to explore and build things on. It wasn't really until college, when I was surrounded by my friends 24/7 (due to living in the same dorm) that I developed something close to a normal social life. Even now I have to deliberately schecdule to spend time with my friends or I will end up sitting around in my apartment by myself all the time. And in this regard, the communication aspects of computers, especially IM actually help me from sliding back into my old patterns.
The author of the study sought to disprove the notion that heavy internet usage had a deliterious effect on people experiencing depression.
That's a long way from claiming that Internet usage is not harmful, or beyond that, that it may have an effect on depression.
This is the psycho-industrial complex in full bloom. Truth is, "internet usage" is such a scientifically meaningless term as to evade any meaningful scientific metric. It is analogous to studying groups of people "using sidewalks."
"Internet usage" can mean anything from viewing pornography to online communities like Slashdot, with lots of stops in between. Each of these stops will have radically different effects on the user, particularly along an axis like "social isolation." Personally, there are times when I use the Internet to interact with people, there are other times that I use it to get the hell away from people. It's a meaningless indicator.
There is a mention at the close of the story that indicates the author is going on to study epidemiology. Good, she needs it.
The best way to do is to be.
I am going to be blind in a couple of years (no idea when exactly, I still can see quite fine, but it is going to happen). I am pretty thankfull to know that a) I know how to touch-type and b) a lot of software is accessible for the blind, including a lot of free software (including the main desktop environments like Emacs, Gnome and - although lacking behind - KDE) - and I seldomly had to do anything that I couldn't do in Emacs, so I should be OK. A lot of web sites lack in terms of accessibility and general standards-compliance *cough*slashdot*cough*, but my chances to use the net (with a standard desktop, "smart"phones etc are going to suck) without usable eyes are a lot higher than they are to use television or newspapers. (And let's not talk about radio, OK?)
Programming can be fun again. Film at 11.
I'm tired of all these studies on retarded crap. Where's our cure for cancer or aids? Quit pissing around and do something useful. Something that isn't going to change 2 weeks down the road when someone else gets some grant money to blow.
Not only that, but people who follow these "reports" are like stupid sheep. "So-and-so says eggwhites are good! Lets all eat eggwhites!" "So-and-so says sitting on your head for an hour a day will extend your life by a year! Lets go buy some mats!"
Honestly, if people can't use a little critical thinking when reading these sophomoric studies, they deserve to die from the jump off the bridge.
You're nothing; like me.
That's one of the most accurate descriptions of AS I've seen in a long while, and I'm 'glad' to know there're other SlashDot'ters that have the same problems I do. For me, the internet is the equivalent of a social life. I have some very dear friends online, better friends than I ever made in real life. For comparison, my best RL friend ended up beating me up in 7th grade. People say that the internet can be harmful to you, that people you meet online are dangerous, etc etc. I know, but as most of the people bothering to read this will be aware of, it's easier to spot the pervs through text than through faces. In real life, I guess it's safe to say that my being eccentric is focused on animals, and horses in particular. Horses are simple, they are easy to understand, they don't play all those power games humans do. I know this is a fact for many people with AS, that animals become our very best friends in the real world. To those who don't know much about AS, I recommend reading the article in the parent post. -- Calydor.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
is not real. There's more to being friends with people than just talking. There's no substitute to being in the actual company of people. Besides that fact that very few people are the same people on-line as they are off-line. Relationships are also not simply based on talking. They're about doing things together and experiencing new things together.
Communication is also a lot more than just words. There's tone, body language, facial expressions, etc.
I'd consider it very unhealthy to view on-line socializing as a substitute. It's very easy for someone who's introverted to decide that chatting on-line is good enough. They'd rather be a fake somebody on-line than a real nobody that has panic attacks in real social situations.
The internet is the fake monkey with fur. The real world is the wire mesh monkey with a bottle. Sure the furry monkey may feel like it's supporting you but you'll just end up depressed and dead.
The real world may be harsh but you need it to survive and be actually happy. There's a picture of a cult member taken before she joined and after she joined. In the picture taken before, she's obviously happy. In the second picture she would tell you she was happy but she obviously was depressed. When she finally realized she wasn't happy and the cult was a sham she left. She can once again be genuinly happy.
It's the same with people who depend on the internet for socializing. They think they're happy. But in reality they're miserable. They're dead inside. They're just meat puppets who think they're happy because they keep saying they are and keep being told they are.
Humans are social creatures. People need to be in the actual company of other people interacting. Not just yapping to them in black and white.
Ben
Work Safe Porn
I am the proof that with increased internet usage your social skills actually increase. When I moved to US (from Europe [and a nerd] originally) it was hard for me to adjust to cultural and social settings here. Even the US nerds had social advantage over me in terms of their fluency in English. I distinctly remember my freshman year in college I could not wait for weekends. Not because I wanted to go out and party, but because all the other people did, hence freeing up all the valuable high speed for the distro sites that I was running. Yes that is how pathetic I was.. While all the people were getting laid I was on my computer doing all kinds of nerdy stuff... I despised and hated talking to people in public, and you could say I suffered from social disorder.
Eventually on internet I started talking to people outside of the distro groups that I was dealing with and eventually I was becoming more and more social on net which in turn resulted in increased social activity outside internet domain. Finally I started chatting with girls, and yes I was pathetic.. I had no idea what to say or how to say it.. But with persistence (what did I have to loose? They had no idea who I was anyway) I started figuring out girls and what they want to hear and eventually became really good at it, and eventually I reached a point where if there was a girl on net that I wanted to talk to I could get her attention in no time and could get her phone # in first or second chat..
That increased smoothness transcendent into real life when I would meet these girls and with each new date my seducing skills and my confidence grew... Going to real dates I would learn even
more about club and bar scene and would use internet skills to expand my efforts into bar and club scene. After few years of net (and Gym) I was able to get a date with any girl whether I met her on net or in a bar or club and get her attention or whatever else I wanted.
The social impact of net did not only change my dating scene. On the internet I had ability to talk to thousands of people (whether it is scene related or other subjects). Increased exposure to people of all types of walk improved my communication skills and eventually enabled me to subtly manipulate conversations to get the desired result. I was increasingly getting better at reading people on the spot based on their responses regarding the conversation. This was in turn very helpful in first few jobs that I held out of college.
Today, when I look at myself back 5-6 years ago its amazing how much my social skills have changed. And the only reason that happened is because of net. So anybody out there trying to claim that net has negative social impact on the population as whole is DEAD WRONG and I am the living proof..
Your damn strait at 16hrs a day I'm not an addict.
;-) That's not really isolating. it's a different form of communication.
I think there's valid evidence to back up this new claim.
Think about how "isolated" you really are. What do most people do online:
Email
Instant Message
Forums
Read News
far from isolating activities. In fact, the goal of these activities is to prevent isolation. Be part of a community.
We email friends we don't see often (replacement for the "letter" as our ancestors called it).
We IM friends "what are you doing tonight?", "want to have cyber sex?"
Forums are a giant community messaging each other.
News is simply staying informed about activities and events of others.
That's not isolation. That's assimilation into society.
Just my $0.02
Moderation in all things should be a way of life.
Sounds almost like Buddhism, in this case the extreme of self-indulgence: "The path leading to the ending of suffering is called the Middle Way because it avoids the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-torment. Such extreme behavior does not lead to peace of mind. This pathway consists of cultivating virtue, meditative serenity and wisdom and is further elaborated as the Noble Eightfold Path." (http://www.abhayagiri.org/dhamma/middleway.html)
Personally, I'm a rather non-religious person but I find Buddhism has a lot of interesting aspects. Most of all, it doesn't bring down commandments like the Bible or the Koran does. What matters are if you do what you do with the right intentions, both in word as well as action, and to develop yourself as a person to further those goals.
It may seem incredibly vague but it is a good starting point for developing ethics from within, rather than taking external ethics as your own. Geez this went far off-topic, that's where a google search for "middle way" gets you...
Kjella
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings