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65% of Americans Spend More Time With Their PC Than SO
Ant writes "PR Newswire reports that 65 percent of consumers are spending more time with a computer than with their significant other (SO). The "Cyber Stress" study confirmed consumers' growing relationship with technology in their everyday lives. In fact, more than 8 out of 10 Americans (84%) say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago."
From TFA:
SupportSoft sells support; so they're interested in a dystopian state of affairs. (For my part, I'm still not convinced we're not dealing with a slashvertisement.)
That said, computers play some yet-to-be-determined role in the splintering of society; as the space-time-continuum is warped, and proximity becomes irrelevant: neighbours become irrelevant.
A real dystopia, therefore, might be the flattening of human relationships into one indifferent, indistinguishable mass.
But since Europeans and European-Americans aren't breeding anymore, it doesn't matter: you'll all be dead within a generation.
And does it include time spent by all the stereotypical geeks who don't have significant others?
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
... but I have to go have sex with my wife.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
You insensitive clod!
10% of Slashdot readers have SO's to spend time with in the first place.
Slashdotters, known to not have SOs, are believed to have caused a great innacuracy/bias in this report.
34486853790
Connection too slow for X forwarding? Try "ssh -CX user@host"
Also, on a completely different topic, World of Warcraft subscriptions have exceeded 8 million.
Blerg.
In my family, my wife is a writer. I'm an IT guy. At night, we play WoW together.
Added together, our total time at home together (including sleep) is about 11 hours. That means 13 hours is spent with a computer seperately right off the bat.
Considering our nights are often spent playing 3-4 hours of WoW, that puts it at 17 hours on the computer per day. Even at best, we would spend probably 3-4 hours a day together, which wouldn't even put a dent in the usual 8-10 hours at work with a computer.
-WS
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
If my SO would sit on my desk at work for 8 hours a day and solve differential equations for me, maybe I would be spending more time with her than with my computer.
Who the hell comes out with studies like this? Whos idea is it to waste money studying and interviewing people to come up with useless stats like this and what are they trying to do? Since almost everyone uses computers, almost everyone knows that they're usefull for just about everything, and almost everyone knows that there's rarely something wrong with people who spend "too much" time on them, I guess we're left with the logical assumption that it's either the Amish or really old politicians sponsering these stupid studies. I bet they presented the stat in the way they did disregarding that like 90% of that time occurred at work. Ugh, why don't they just stop living in the 90's and give up their ridiculous notions that everyone who uses a computer is an antisocial loser and shouldn't.
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
What percentage of people spend more time at work than with their significant other?
The vast majority.
What percentage of people who have a PC with broadband at home (the demographic targeted by this study) use a PC at work?
65% doesn't sound far off.
// MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
My wife was getting pretty upset about my gaming time (especially on WoW), so now we came to an agreement. I only spend 1 hour a day on gaming (2 on Sat & Sun), and we've created a date night once a week that I don't even use the computer at all. It's made for a lot smoother relationship, and in reality I've found it much more satisfying than simply just playing games.
Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
Either way, I believe it. Personally, I have no idea why I live with other people anymore, less have any actual serious relationships. However, while I use a computer a LOT (over 65% easily... part of the job), even at times when I am not on the PC much, I still have the same attitude, so it may be that I'm just an asshole. :)
Tag this one as "shill".
I can explanate how to administrate your network. You must configurate and segmentate it, so it can computate.
...for National Mandatory Sex and Cuddling Day.
(Verify word was "nearby"? Must be a sign....)
you need to look at what time of year it is. Suring the spring, summer, and fall, you go outside with your SO and do things outside the house. During the winter, you end up with people staying at home. There is only so much you can do at home, so people sit at the computer.
I bet if they waited until summer and ran this survey again, there would be different results.
People spend more time with lots of things than with their SO. I would argue that this can be healthy.
After all, if you want to get sick of someone there is no better way than spending every waking moment with them.
I know it's all down to personal preference, but I find that time apart is every bit as important as time together.
The trick is to balance the two - too much of one or the other is bad, you need just the right amount of together and seperate time.
My Computer Music Tutorial Videos
So, does spending time with my lady robot count?
I don't have a SO but, if I did, I'd find joy in conversation, watching movies and not playing an Orc attempting to find her.
spend nearly all my time outside of work on my PC. Then I got a job in the PC world, and then I quit being on it outside of my normal job.
Then I met a girl, and got married. Since she turned out to be a complete psycho bitch (I should have known...should have known) and now spend all my free time *back* on the PC, and away from her as much as possible.
So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
And I'll bet these people are a little less glued to their televisions than they were three years ago. And instead of going to the movies or getting hammered at a bar, they might find an online game to be a bit more entertaining.
The obvious downside is that I'm sure that some people are probably less active than they were before, but not all of them. If you percieve this to be a growing threat or strain on relationships, market software/hardware that makes the PC experience something shared between two people. I know tons of couples (and families) that have two or more computers and they simply play games like WoW together.
Honestly, I don't see anything unhealthy with this trend so long as the people excersize or go out walking/running once a week or more.
My work here is dung.
...people who keep in contact with their SO's via computer? At least 50% of my computer-time is actually spent 'with' my girlfriend, just chatting or playing WoW together. Face-to-face social interaction is the best kind, but interaction via comoputers/the web is not irrelevant.
My computer's not a total bitch!
65% spend more time with their plow horse/tractor/butter churn/machine tool/slide rule/whatever than they spend with their spouse. The division of labor has always taken spouses away from each other to some extent. Of the discretionary time that spouses could choose to either be together or apart, well, has that changed significantly?
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
I just ICQ'ed this story to my wife in the other room and we both agree that it is just BS.
Which could easily explain why I spend more time with a computer than with my SO.
But, get this: (FTA)
I can relate - there are computer things which simply don't get done around my house because I don't have the time to mess with them. For example, I'm not using my home PC as a media server because: 1.) There's a problem with my Samba configuration that I don't have time to troubleshoot, and 2.) For some reason, Windows98 shares don't play well with the rest of the network. I really don't have the time to troubleshoot either problem, but if I had to fix one of them, I'd fix Samba because, generally speaking, you only have to fix a Linux problem once.
And don't get me started on how awful it was setting up a wireless router with Windows XP... I spent $200 worth of my time to configure a $15 piece of hardware.
And that is the "plug and play" friendly OS. I wonder how much time I would have wasted had I tried to set it up from Linux...
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
Hick Child: Dang it, Buck. It's my turn to use the sex box!
Buck: It's my sex box! And her name is "Sony".
My Sysadmin Blog
When interviewed, they said, "We're just cavemen. We do not understand these shiny so-called 'mice'. When we randomly bang on these 'keyboards', glyphs appear magically on what you people refer to as 'monitors'. We spend more time with our wives because we cower in fear of the grinding and wind-like noises that emminate from these miniature 'towers'." ...(in a stern voice) "But what we do know is that computer problems can sometimes cause significant emotional distress, similar to what happens when a problem occurs between spouses."
*sniffle*
One of us. One of us. One of us. One of us.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
Just last night the wife made just this objection as I pulled out the Tablet while cooking dinner so I could check email. I shrugged, conceded the point in general, and then she grabbed the damned thing and went into the bedroom to catch up on stuff related to Heroes and Jericho!
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
Usians, not Americans
How do the following get counted:
* Time spent chatting with your SO online
* Time spent with your SO in a room together both using computers where you're talking with eachother, etc
Seems like those would be time on computer as well as time with SO. Then the question becomes how quality that time is considered to be.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
The PC does what you tell it to.
This tagline is copyrighted material. Please send $10 for an affordable replacement.
You have much more sex when you're with your computer.
I have 168 hours in a week. I work in front of a computer 40+ hours a week. I do graduate school online, so add about 20 hours. I sleep 8 hours a night, so subtract 56 hours. That leaves us 52 hours. 1 hour per week is spent in church, with my wife in the choir. She spends all of saturday at the farm with the hourses, so 14 hours spent there. I have a potential 38 hours, minus any time using the restroom. I believe it.
In God we trust, all others require data.
..but can she run Linux?
How long until this is shown in our junior high and high schools?
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb."
You don't have to look hard here to read between the lines, folks. After a few years of marriage, I think most of us would agree that spending time with a computer is far more enjoyable than spending it with your SO.
I can't change what my wife's droning on about by typing a different website into an address bar. And 6mbps DSL is far more affordable than diamond jewelry every anniversary and Xmas.
Of course I spend twice as much with computer as with my wife... when I get home she doesn't allow me to stay with it!!!
So say we all
The American divorce rate has been 50% or higher years before PCs were ever around. So what people doing before PCs came around that got them divorce from their significant? Play Dungeons & Dragons all the time?
I seem to remember having one of those... Someone nagged me when I was upgrading our router... but the memory is dim... Anyway, the food miraculously appears and somehow the children get to bed, so I suspect someone is in the house doing these things...
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
This country has over a 50% divorce rate. People don't treat marriages like they used to. That's why there are books like Dr. Laura's last two, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, and The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage. Ignoring what people think of Dr. Laura, there are tons of other similar books on the market. Look at the influences most people have for how a good marriage is and you find divorced parents, sitcoms with snotty wives and husbands who act like 12 year olds, and movies and other popular culture that say similar things ("Men don't have feelings" and such).
I wonder what the percentage time is of happily married couples?
And does this spend include time at work? Because I work at a computer all day, so without staying up at night there would be no way for my wife to compete on a time basis (if I was married).
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
I spend more time with my underwear than I do with my SO and she doesn't seem to mind it. It has the added benefit of keeping my dangly bits from rubbing all over the inside of my pants.
Have you seen my SO?!
What about time spent with both? Mine lives in a different city right now, and we play Guild Wars as a way to have something to do together in addition to mail and phone.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
He's an IT guy who has the social skills to get a wife. Geek.
You, however, do not have an SO and you used the term "find joy in". Nerd!
the SUV-driving, mortgage-strangled, corporation-loving proletariat continue to support the
world's most dangerous "leader".
Join the conversation to help democracy and freedom reign in the United States.
Thanks for your support.
Patriotically,
K. Trout
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
I listen to quite a few podcasts. I listen to them mostly when I'm doing housework. One day, I had just finished the dishes and had about ten minutes left on part one of MacCast's podcaster roundtable, so I sat down on the couch and took a quick break. My wife took that as the signal for "cuddle." Then she asked me "Why do you like listening to your people on your podcasts talk and not me?"
I said "Because they talk about interesting things."
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
What's the relation between your SO and your computer?
Most people spend more time at work than with their SO anyway. It's mandatory for the average civilian if he wants to survive financially.
It's normal to have "only" about 25% of your time spent with your love. That's called life balance.
Computers are tools, if they are present in multiple facets of your life, there's no problem. I use mine for work, hobbies, part of my social interactions, personal growth, and more.
OH NOZ! He spends more time with clothes than with his significant other!!
This is probably a bad sign, but when I first glanced at this /. entry and saw SO, I thought they were talking about Search optimization.
.... it must be true.
Consider the source.
So what's the big deal?
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
As a Mac user, my PC is more attractive than my wife.
(posted anonymously dear)
Enough of the "My PC is my significant other!" your making the rest of us look bad. (but i wonder how many people defy this self imposed stereotype) I wonder how i would hold up to this if i had a significant other Also, do they by some strange circumstance do they count those who admit to not having a significant other?
There is no XUL, only WebExtensions...
Shockingly, spending time with my SO means I have to watch Gilmore Girls, Desperate Housewives, CSI, Law and Order, Missing, Monk, House, 2 1/2 Men, and 24. I like some of them and can tolerate most of the others. But Gilmore Girls, that's torture.
I tried to time the pauses between conversations on Gilmore Girls and couldn't find a stopwatch that could record time in that small of increments.
I do spend time with her on the couch with the Powerbook. I have earphones plugged in and have watched Office Space, Heavy Metal, Blues Brothers, Gone in 60 Seconds, and Con Air recently. Does that count?
Shit better not happen!
I know married couples who both play World of Warcraft. For them, time on WoW *is* time with their SO.
While my wife and I don't share any online games, our computers are in the same room. If both of us are on the computer, we're still talking to each other.
Sure. In a 168-hour week, I spend 56 hours sleeping, 50 hours at work on a PC, 8 hours at home on a PC, and maybe 36 hours quality time with my SO (4 hours per day during week, 8 hours per day on weekends).
Does this mean I'm "ignoring" her for my PC? No, it means that I work.
Back in the 1800s men on the farm probably spent more time with their horses than their wives...hmmm, that didn't sound so good...
"You cannot find out which view is the right one by science in the ordinary sense." - C.S. Lewis on Intelligent Design
After doing the RTFA stuff, I noticed something, umm, interesting? It doesn't bother to distinguish between using the computer at home, and using the computer at work. Considering the fact that MOST people spend more of their time WORKING then being AT HOME, 65% seems rather low now, doesn't it? I mean, is it REALLY true that 35% of Americans don't have to deal with a computer, constantly, at work? Good for them! Stupid B.S. sensationalist studies give scientific studies a bad name.
Listen... I am unfortunately one of the ones playing WoW that hasnt yet been able to
...no???
get the SO involved. I do know that time spent on my computer to play is time spent apart....
what I do like to know is...if I did have her online with me, would that be considered time
spent with her....
As well, is there a possibility that the article fails to mention the time spent
sleeping (wink,wink) in bed with the SO is calculated into the % brought forth.
I also tend to think that anyone who wants calculate time fixing the computer software
or hardware instead of calculating the time it takes to figure something out in 1 hour instead of reading the manual, included with every box of software you buy to better understand using it, would shave off time on this report.
Last but not least, if time spent on the computer is BAD, but the time it saves you by
doing your taxes in 2 minutes instead of 20 hours...(quicktax)....then is that calculated as a minus towards the total, as it actually gives you back time
There will always be abuse over use for the addictive persons needing that connection
in their lives, but I find this report highly inconclusive and highly erroneous
I would like to see these formulas used to come up with this percentage.
Cant say i blame them, People Male female etc all suck socialization is way the fuck overrated.
*My SO is another avatar in Second Life
I found that I can increase SO/PC ratio by getting SO under the table and performing BJ while I use PC.
Don't buy cheap-ass $15 wireless routers, for Pete's sakes. You get what you pay for.
Geez, you say that like it is a BAD thing.
-- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
My girlfriend and I, both huge computer nerds, just moved into a new apartment. We put our computers side-by-side on a big table right in front of our huge living room window overlooking the city. We geek it up with our single player games but we're always poking eachother to come look at something cool in our games. It's quite romantic, actually.
...she's SCSI and I'm IDE.
My personal computer is my home entertainment system and my main communication device; using it for movies (rentals and downloads), television series (I don't own a TV), music, gaming, email, passive blogging, news, chatting, online ego massaging (dating site), social entertainment (youtube and random stuff), photography, educational materials (pr0n), banking and purchases.
It occurred to me that I was practically always in front of the darn thing, using it or at least always interacting with it, yet could not find any of the activities specifically wasteful.
I made two changes however, for one I stopped playing Wow, but that's simply because I lost interest, as I found it to be cyclical, but this didn't affect or reduce my computer use by much.
The other thing I did was setup all my email from various domains to get forwarded to my cell phone. It turned out that I would often go to the unit just to see if I had new mail, only to end up sorting non-essential arrivals, that could have waited to be processed at another time.
Now I get the first 140 characters of each email on my phone, live, and can even reply to it directly (using the phone) if the message requires some urgent response. Since I've made this change, the only time I actually sit in front of the computer to handle email is once in the morning, and once at night.
I used to just sit there, sort if like I might be waiting in front of a television, waiting for something else to come on, but now whenever I use the computer, I'm actually doing something with it. I used to see myself as dependent and didn't like that feeling and thought I ought to do something about it. Now I'm only dependent on my computer in the same sense that I'm dependent on electricity.
When did my FU become a SO? I must have missed a memo.
if you ran your own private business the way govts run countries, you'd be in jail for fraud and racketeering within months.
as another reply says, a lot of gov't finance is like a ponzi scheme, signup and pay now for future gains, but the gains are only paid for by future signups... e.g. pensions:
the USA is hitting the wall at the moment, as are many other countries, in that there's no bit pot of invested money, tax received today pay's other people's pensions, so if the population shrinks it places a big burden on the current working citizens. Worse, the gov't often promised generous pensions to many public sector workers in lieue of good pay at present, and this is compounding the issue.
some countries are now making private pension schemes obligatory. the snag is that people are still having to pay quite high taxes, and for decreasing services! They are realising the money is going to pay pensions of retired public sector workers rather than actually buying service. In the UK, local "council tax" rises a lot each year and yet each year we're threatened with service cuts - as civil servants retire and live longer, the pension "black hole" gets bigger.
sadly, there's little you can do except off-shore as much money as possible to avoid paying tax.
I hope you realize it's that attitude that keeps the world from improving.
On the face of it, it's true for me. I'm with my laptop probably 14 hours a day on a workday, give or take, and with my wife for maybe 4 waking hours on a workday. But I'm not sure that tells the whole tale. First, obviously, when I'm at work, I'm with the laptop, not the wife...but that's hardly a choice. Second, in the evenings, I'm usually sitting in the living room with the laptop on my lap while my wife sits in the same living room with her Powerbook on her lap. What does that count as?
On the weekends, when my time is mine to do with as I will, I nearly always spend more time with my wife than with any of my computers, though of course there is some overlap where I am with both. Whereas people used to sit at the breakfast table Sunday morning reading the paper, something that is often labeled a communal exercise, we spend the morning at the breakfast table in newsreaders on our laptops. Is that time "with the computer" or "with our SO"?
The cake is a pie
...probably because I spend so much time on my PC.
This sig is false.
My computer IS my SO?
Are we counting waking hours only?
I work for 8 hours a day (if I'm lucky - 9-10 is probably the more common case). Since I work in IT, close to all of that time is spent on a computer. Often, several.
If I get home around 5:30, then I have another five to seven hours before I'm likely to go to sleep. If I don't bother to check Slashdot, my personal e-mail, or my friends' blogs, or post-process any photos I've taken, or play any games, or chat up any friends online, that still leaves less total time to be with my spouse than I've already spent online.
So who cares?
Ok, the article titles around 65% figure, which is what I'm interested in. 65% of what? Of people with a SO and a decent comp? Of all Americans? A more population?
RTFA, and it's got absolutely nothing to do with the 65% figure, except for one little aside stating that people sometimes spend more time with the computer than their spouse - used to promote their support services.
I may not be able to officially mod the OP, but consider this a lengthy (-1 Tool) towards Ant.
As to discussion on the 65% figure, which is in itself kind of interesting - I'm sure I'm one of them. Not because I don't want to spend time with the wife per say, but when she's got college, I've got work, she's got work, we both have 3 kids that need full time watching, and you gotta sleep sometime - there's no way I could match the 40 waking hours I'm on the computer at work each week in quality time with the wife, let alone any gaming at home I do. I think a lot of people fall into this category - when you both have a lot of responsibilities there's just not much time left to spend with one another. Computers have just become that tied to everything we do - we've learned how to use their automation to enhance daily tasks, access information effeciently, and meet up with friends for entertainment.
You can get 15 minutes of fame, but you can go down in history for infamy.
...and I'm looking for a replacement for mig wife btw., I'm quite sure I can find that woman somewhere here on /.
I fail to see the point.
tasty electronic music vittles
I, for one, spend more time with my clothes than with my SO, or with my computer, for that matter. This is, however, meaningless, what matters is what I do when I'm inside my clothes or at the computer - I can work, I can communicate, play games, read stuff, shop etc.
Some people say that within 10 years, computers will disappear. I concur, I think within 10 years, computers will be everywhere, so they will disappear from the focus, and we will talk about what we do (with or without computers).
Yesterday was the time to do it right. Are we having a REVOLUTION yet?
WIFE: Babbbyyyyy, why don't you pay attention to me??
HUSBAND: I'm busy on the computer!!
WIFE: Well...I want to do some EXPLORING...(giggles)
HUSBAND: (click) (click) (click) huh?
WIFE: mmmmmm.....I wanna explore new sexual positions...
HUSBAND: ehhh wouldn't it be quicker to just GOOGLE it! (click) (click) (click)
I ask girlfriend and Google: Is the line "those are pearls which were his eyes" Shakespeare? Google says 'nope.'
I ask girlfriend and Google: Is there more crime in the neighborhood where we're looking to buy a house than in the one where we're currently living? Google says 'nope.'
I ask girlfriend and Google: Hey, want to go in the other room and make a bunch of loud, immoral sounds? Google says 'nope.'
Google's so negative.
Girlfriend for the win!
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
I am appalled by the corporatism rife here.
We empathize with consumers about the emotional nature of dealing with computer problems
What, pray tell, are these consumers consuming? Computers? You can consume a computer? Or computer support?
If I pay you, I am not a "consumer". I am a customer. I might buy a six pack and give it away; am I the "consumer" or is the person who drinks the brew?
Customer #6: I am not a consumer, I am a free man!
Corporation #2: Mwahahahaha!
I think this is directly analogous to any such statement as "75 percent of wives spend more time in their kitchen than with their husbands" back in the days when women were expected to stay at home and cook. The PC is a central focus point for a large number of different activities. I do not think any suggestion that PCs are dividing spouses can be inferred from such a simple statistic.
This would only be somewhat alarming if they were spending time with the computer, as in tinkering with its hardware or making a case mod, something for the sake of the computer itself. On the other hand, if this is time spent using the computer as a tool, then it's a stupid thing to report because by the same logic most people spend more time "with" their eyes, ears, hands, mouth, pen/pencil, book, etc., because these are tools and humans spend most time using tools.
It's true. Since BC came out, my SO and I haven't been raiding. We haven't done Onyxia since the update. But it's only temporary until we level up to the point where we CAN raid again. And we do the occasional instance together...
There was a time when movies had plots. So you knew who's ass it was, and why it was farting.
-Not Sure
The first time I read that headline, I parsed it as:
65% of Americans Spend More Time With Their PC Than Their SO's do.
And thought "duh!"
Thou shalt not begin a subject line or post with the word "Umm".
80% of people spend more time with their computers rather than their SO's because most of the users tweaking the curve are lifeless dorks, that have no SO to spend time with. I would say that 100% computer time vs 0% SO time will stiffly affect the overall number scheme.
If our dorks of the world would find a life outside porn, IM and WoW we'd see a drastic drop in that number.
How many Americans spend more time at work than with their SO?
That's it! Jobs are bad!
People can't feed their families putting clothes on their backs by just doing their SO like they can doing their job. Some things are worth NOT doing 24/7.
I think your numbers are off, or you're only counting white people, or something.
The fertility rate in the U.S. is definitely above replacement rate right now. It's not in all areas -- there are parts of the country becoming depopulated via migrations and "greying out" of the remaining population -- but overall the population is basically stable from births, and increasing due to immigration.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
This really is an important factor in the equation.
;)
Of course, I'm not sure how to analogously segregate time "with" vs "using" my wife, and I ain't going down that rathole here
I'm in a long distance relationship, so I only get to see my girlfriend for a weekend every two or three weeks. I certainly spend more time with my computer than physically with her, but most of the time I spend on my computer I have a chat window up and I'm talking to her. We play some online games, talk to each other quite a bit, and frankly I'd hate to imagine a long distance relationship without a computer to help keep us connected.
http://www.geeklikeme.net/dotcomic/ Posted this comic this morning - felt it was relevant to the topic at hand. My apologies in advance for the shameful self promotion.
Windows boot time is longer than the average male needs having sex...
Wait, you mean that cute little Blood Elf Warlock I met in Kalimdor isn't my significant other?
Korgath Realm - When your significant other isn't anymore, there's always a monkey online.
If you count time off work, I bet TV will takes bigger slice of people's time than computers. I mean regular people, not slashdotters (for whom PC is their SO).
SO? What SO? Should we have one? We're nerds, for Flying Spaghetti Monster's sake!
65 percent of consumers are spending more time with a computer than with their significant other
With a computer? Gee, how many of them work with computers at their day job? How many don't have SOs?
The average consumer has experienced computer troubles eight times - about every four months - over the last three years.
They only have computer trouble once every four months? That seems pretty low, if anything, though I suppose it depends on how you define "trouble." If they mean, "this website won't load," I bet it happens on a weekly freakin' basis for most people (especially if they read Slashdot). If they mean, "do you smell something burning?" then probably less often.
The average American is wasting 12 hours per month - the equivalent of half a weekend - due to problems with their home computer.
Huh? What happened to "once every four months?"
A majority of Americans (52%) describe their most recent experience with a computer problem as one of anger, sadness or alienation.
Um... as opposed to what? Are they seriously suggesting that 48% of Americans don't get grumpy when Lappy won't work? This statistic really makes me wonder what they're counting as "trouble."
"We empathize with consumers [blah blah give us money]," said Josh Pickus, CEO of SupportSoft.
Ah, right.
Come on, this is a marketing pitch for their computer support service, and it's not even a subtle one.
...not having an SO.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
Who is really surprised by this? Let's be honest. Most people that work in any sort of white collar (and even a good chunk of those in blue collar) jobs sit in front of some sort of terminal all day while they are at work. That's 8 hours every day. If you sleep 8 hours and spend 8 in front of the PC, that only leaves 8 more hours. Factor in meal times, taking kids to soccer practice, commute to and from work, and that probably only leaves 5-6 hours (at best) of free time each day to do whatever you want to do, including spending time with your SO. This story is sensationalist hogwash that is trying to stir up reactions like "OMG look at us! Society is degenerating blah blah blah!" We've heard it all before. Nothing to see here - move along.
i am intensifying my search for a SO, as my computer just asked me via instant messaging if it looked fat next to a laptop....
"you may disagree with me, but i would lay down my life to defend your right to do so..."
after 24 years of marriage I only had my closest companion for comfort and support. My PC.
Sometimes my SO is uncomfortably pushy in regards to my personal space. Yes, I like spending time together, cuddling, sex, etc. I also sometimes like to stop and read a book or play a video game.
Part of the reason is that it lets me distract/disable/derail my normal thought pattern. This means that when I've spent the day being bitched at by users, working late, and missing breaks/food, I get to distract my mind from what has gone on (and/or what I still need to do). Sexual distraction works sometimes, but as it's generally more physical than mental (and stress is not really conducive to a healthy sexual response anyhow) it doesn't always do the trick. Having a woman poking at my bits or hoving in front of my face really doesn't do much for me (although backrubs are great in general).
However, give me some time with a book or video game, and my troubled thought pattern is derailed. After that, I'm happy to engage in some more personal activities. If I happen to spend part of the down-time playing a game with my SO it's even better since nobody is feeling neglected at that point.
Without games or books etc, my busy life would intrude way too much on my personal life. They're a welcome break from reality.
Why would I want to spend time with my wife? When I hang out with her all she does is bitch that I am spending too much time on my PC!
Well, I never. So, it's computers now. Huh.
Used to be bars. Or the garage. Or anything other than together. And now we have computers.
Computer's are ruining our lives! Run for the hills!
News at 11...
...girlfriend.
I was trying to figure out what kind of Shared Object they were referring to...I never would have guessed.
- Takes care of the bills
- Will occasionally clean the cat box.
- Fixes me a meal a couple times a year.
- Encourages me to try new things.
My SO doesn't..On the other hand...
My PC:
- Can suggest new things to try.
- Is always ready to go somewhere, and can usually suggest some interesting places.
- Doesn't complain if I want to play computer games all weekend.
- Will remind me of appointments without complaining that it shouldn't have to remind me of any gawddamn thing.
- Doesn't bitch if the temperature is below 65 or above 75.
- Doesn't go psycho if it sees a spider, wasp or mosquito.
- Thinks the color of the room is just fine.
- Lets me watch "American Chopper"
- Doesn't complain that my hands are cold.
- Probably knows the optimum arrangement for loading the dishwasher.
- Is almost always "in the mood"
My PC doesn't:The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
most folks aren't prepared for marriage. i sure wasn't, and neither was my wife. looking at the dazed and confused looks of nearly everyone i know, neither were they. here are some notable facts you need to consider:
1. the vast majority of women consider sex a tool to use to get what they want. that's their excitement. for example, most women will be sexually available during dating, but will all of a suden get annoyed at sex once the marriage is over. in my case, 100% availability and sexy turned into 90% unavailability and sex was mostly annoying within months of marriage. we dated 5 years, so 5 years went one way, got married and everything changed almost immediately.
2. women tend to see absolutely nothign wrong with #1, above. they did what they had to had to do to get what they wanted - and what else is there? this is quite narcissistic, but, well... it is what it is...
3. women don't want to be "sex slaves" (what a freaking bad attitude!) to their husbands... but neither to do husbands want to be celibate slaves to their wife. you've never heard the latter b/c, well, that concept probably has never entered into the mind of a woman b/c they don't really think about anything other themselves when it comes to sexuality.
4. the average woman *really* wants a eunuch to 1. make her look good in front of her friends, 2. isnpire others to be jealous of her, 3. buy her lots of crap, 4. if you don't buy her crap, at least pay for the mortgage and all expenses so she can direct all her money to buy herself crap, oh, and did mention make others jalous of her?
5. the average woman is very emotional, but not very intimate, while the guy is very intimate, but not so emotional.
6. all that sexual energy she used to trick you to marry her - it now all goes into eating. well, not always, just 90% of the time.
now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a woman not too interested in sex (and 90% are not interested in sex beyond using it to get what they want - and when they get married, they already have what they want, monetary security (a mule to pull their cart, so to speak)).
but there is something *really* immoral, wrong, dishonest and downright EVIL about pretending to be some kind of sexy when one is really the ice queen. make no mistake, 90% will freeze out their husbands and shed no tears about the all but celibate life they trick their provider to enter.
so, do i sound a bit cynical? want to know something scary? i married a pretty good woman and she pulled this crap on me too. i don't think it is b/c she's evil, rather, i think it is b/c the wiring is different. just like guys can't help their sexual desire, neither do women have to think about manipulating guys with sex and then freezing them out FOR LIFE.
most guys would much prefer to be in bed with their sexy, hot wife who is into them... but that person only existed PRIOR TO MARRIAGE. she's long gone, now.
anyway, i recommend that every single guy read the "proper care and feeding of marriage" and make sure their fiance reads it. then toss in the "proper care and feeding of husbands." if she can't make a commitment - assume at you own peril, b/c there is a 90%+ chance you end up devastated FOR LIFE - to the precepts in that book, run away as fast as you can.
i also recommend listening to her radio show. hearing women call up and complain about their husbands wanting sex and men complain about their woan throwing them under the bus will give you some perspective beyond the LIE that is a woman dating.
fortunately, my the message of how CRUEL my wife has slowly sunk into her and now she makes more of an effort to not just suck me dry (in every way but the way i want, right) and she is beginning to realize that marriage wasn't just a "free security (money, protection, guidance, etc...)" kind of deal, rather, she had some responsibilities, too. it wasn't just get, get, get, but she has to give some back.
my guess is not more than 10% of the women who deceive their boyfri
Girlfriends that get mad because your on your computer need to be dealt with when you first start dating them. The first time they complain, you simply need to remind them that if you keep the computer time, you can always get more girlfriends. If you keep the girlfriend, you don't get more computer time. It will drive off a lot of women, but when you find one that gets it, you've solved a major headache that could follow you for the rest of your life. If you think there won't be other women, just keep in mind that I am fat, ugly, and just plain creepy (not in the good way). If I can find a good woman, so can you.
My PC IS My SO!!!!!
Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)
To a computer-science student like myself, this doesn't make any sense! Do they mean the most or the least significant other?
I guess that would make them an INsignificant other. sorry, had to be done :)
/. to push peoples' buttons and stimulate intellectual debate. Really it's the same thing, only she uses her voice whereas I use my keyboard.
The problem is that computers do offer a form of limited, "safe" social interaction, plus you don't have to worry about your hair, your breath, or what you're wearing (or not wearing). Some people use computers the way others use phones.. if I added up the time my S.O. spends on the phone every day, the number would come close to my non-work computer time. While she entertains her friends and family with the day's joys and woes, I post flame-worthy banter on
-Billco, Fnarg.com
My wife used to complain about the amount of time I spent in front of the PC... Since I've started skydiving, she's realised that the PC hardly took up any time at all :(