Are we spending too much time on the internet?

From an article by Marina Hyde in the Guardian today: -

'Its brilliance as a communication tool has freed up people's time. Pensioners who would previously have had to spend the day trawling bookshops looking for the last copy of Fly Fishing by JR Hartley can now simply order it from Amazon, and spend the rest of the afternoon more usefully cursing themselves for failing to keep a single copy of a book they in fact wrote.

Yet, is there a creative boom in the arts about which we are all unaware? Are people getting cleverer? More important, are they getting happier? In short, how are they spending all this saved time?

Alas, in a development that condemns us to another trip down the rabbit hole, Ofcom's research suggests that they are spending it on the internet.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2156068,00.html

I sometimes feel, after sitting in front of the computer screen for 2-3 hours, that I have lost that time forever, that it has been wasted; I could have done something productive with my time, like reading, or taking the dog for a long walk or something that involved exercise. Admittedly, this is mostly during holidays, when boredom kicks in quickly. But are we, as a nation, wasting too much time on the internet and missing opportunities to 'improve' ourselves in someway? Is the internet contributing to the rise in family breakdown, anti-social behaviour, teenage suicide? Should we be concerned and reign it in a little?

Discuss.

Reply 1

Sweyn Forkbeard

19

From a person who sometimes wonders whether he is actually psychologically addicted to the Internet and video games, the answer would be yes.

I'm actually reading a book about it at the moment - the scientists writing it seem to be intrigued by the change in human behaviour on the Internet, amongst other things. They suggest that there are certain types of people who get different things out of the Internet, and that those who have difficulty socialising in the 'real world' are likely to spend excessive amounts of time on there. They also correlated heavy Internet use with loneliness etc.

Reply 2

Lauraa2908

I think,personally that I spend too much time on the internet :s-smilie:

I would say I was on here for about 2 hours a day,in which I could be sat with my family watching TV.

I have been brought up in pubs and lived in them until I was almost 17 so the norm would have been to be upstairs,just me,my brother and up until the age of 10 my sister too(obviously only when we were old enough to look after ourselves!)so Socialising with my parents was virtually impossible with them running a busy hotel.They would be at work often from 6:30am until midnight every day!

I think this has led me,partially to being online a lot,as its what Im used to.If I had been brought up in a house in the normal way,I think I would spend time with my family instead of being online.But because when we are together too long we argue I choose to be upstairs

I do think,especially in the younger people it will cause more severe social issues though and lead some to become withdrawn from society!

Reply 3

EnglishPride

2

There's always the option of socialising with people other than your parents you know Laura. And I think the answer to the question depends on the purpose of the internet use. Spending long periods of time on the internet if its for your job or for school work is fine, its necessary.

However, using the internet all the time for, as described above, social interaction is indeed a problem as it takes away from the actual real life skills of people.

Reply 4

dyslexic_banana

1

I believe that people are too quick to condemn heavy internet users. The internet is obviously so wide-ranging, in terms of its content, that its usage can broaden the mind. From debating on message forums and having amusing conversations on MSN, to reading interesting articles and facts, there are many rewarding things that the internet provides for me.

What, really would we be doing that would be so much more productive, if not using the internet? A few years ago, I actually used to stay on the internet most of the day, even eating my meals at the computer. This may sound excessive, but I can't honestly think that I'd have done much more worthwhile, had I not been such heavy an internet user.

We have choice, as to what we do with our time, so heavy internet usage most likely represents the most rewarding use of the time of those who engage in it.

Reply 5

Sweyn Forkbeard

19

dyslexic_banana

I believe that people are too quick to condemn heavy internet users. The internet is obviously so wide-ranging, in terms of its content, that its usage can broaden the mind. From debating on message forums and having amusing conversations on MSN, to reading interesting articles and facts, there are many rewarding things that the internet provides for me.

What, really would we be doing that would be so much more productive, if not using the internet? A few years ago, I actually used to stay on the internet most of the day, even eating my meals at the computer. This may sound excessive, but I can't honestly think that I'd have done much more worthwhile, had I not been such heavy an internet user.

We have choice, as to what we do with our time, so heavy internet usage most likely represents the most rewarding use of the time of those who engage in it.

It might have been that you had become so habituated to being on the Internet that you couldn't think of anything worthwhile to do when in fact there were things you could have done. The same thing has happened to me.

Reply 6

Socrates

17

Agreeing with Will.

I used to be an extremely heavy internet user, and still fairly heavy right now. Though I do know there are many other things I could be doing if I were not online (cleaning up my room, reading to become more intellectual to name just a few).

Are we spending too much time on the internet?

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