Americans spend more time with computer than spouse

[Martin]

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5075438

Study: Americans spend more time with computer than spouse
By Demetria Gallegos
Denver Post Staff Witer
Denver Post
Article Last Updated:01/24/2007 09:27:34 AM MST

A new study indicates that most people spend more time with technology than they do with their family.

The survey found 65 percent of respondents spent more time with a computer than with their spouse or significant other.

The survey was conducted by Kelton Research, an independent firm, and commissioned by support.com, a site that offers tech support.

More than 80 percent of those polled said they were more dependent on their computer than they were three years ago.

Among other findings of the "Cyber Stress" study:

- The average consumer has experienced computer troubles eight times - about every four months - over the last three years.

- The average American is wasting 12 hours per month - the equivalent of half a weekend - due to problems with their home computer.

- A majority of Americans (52%) describe their most recent experience with a computer problem as one of anger, sadness or alienation.

The survey was conducted in December and January, involving 1001 participants nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%, at a 95% confidence level.

[Swiss Miss]

I think it's absolutely amazing that we have created and devote such a large part of our lives on this thing. It has really put a damper on human interaction. When I start thinking a lot about it I start to appreciate these religions and cultures where they take a day to be "electronic free". It's so addictive, informative and fun to be on the internet though. I think I would be 10x dumber had it not been for me spending as much time as I have on the damn thing.

Ahhh... bittersweet.

Thank you, Al Gore.

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Swiss Miss

I think it's absolutely amazing that we have created and devote such a large part of our lives on this thing. It has really put a damper on human interaction. When I start thinking a lot about it I start to appreciate these religions and cultures where they take a day to be "electronic free". It's so addictive, informative and fun to be on the internet though. I think I would be 10x dumber had it not been for me spending as much time as I have on the damn thing.

Ahhh... bittersweet.

Thank you, Al Gore.

Agreed. Alot of times I force myself to get away from here because of the addictiveness and loss of real values one can have.

From all the researching , email , news , websites , etc... its an endless world out there.

Internet addiction is a growing problem for some. Now there is a 12 step program to help deal with it...

Twelve-steps to curing e-mail addiction
February 20, 2007 • New 12-step program designed to tackle e-mail addiction

Alcoholics have one, and so do drug abusers. Now people addicted to e-mail also have a 12-step program designed to tackle their obsession. An executive coach in Pennsylvania has devised a plan to teach people how to manage the electronic tool, which some users say can be as much an intrusive waste of time as it is fast-paced and efficient.

Developed for cases such as a golfer who checked his BlackBerry after every shot, and lost a potential client who wanted nothing to do with his obsession, Marsha Egan's plan taps into deepening concern that e-mail misuse can cost businesses millions of dollars in lost productivity. "There is a crisis in corporate America, but a lot of CEOs don't know it," Egan said. "They haven't figured out how expensive it is."

One of Egan's clients cannot walk by a computer -- her own or anyone else's -- without checking for messages. Other people will not vacation anywhere they cannot connect to their e-mail systems. Some wait for e-mail and send themselves a message if one hasn't shown up in several minutes, Egan said. The first of Egan's 12 steps is "admit that e-mail is managing you. Let go of your need to check e-mail every 10 minutes."

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[DansDarkSide]

LOL Now thats funny

Recycling those old 286, 386 and 486 PC's...

Tech firms go green as e-waste mounts
4 Mar. 2007 — This is where computers go to die a green death.

Inside Hewlett-Packard Co.'s cavernous recycling plant in the Sacramento suburbs, truckloads of obsolete PCs, servers and printers collected from consumers and businesses nationwide are cracked open by goggled workers who pull out batteries, circuit boards and other potentially hazardous components. The electronic carcasses are fed into a massive machine that noisily shreds them into tiny pieces and mechanically sorts the fragments into piles of steel, aluminum, plastic and precious metals. Those scraps are sent to smelting plants, mostly in the Sacramento area, where they are melted down for reuse.

The computer industry is ramping up its campaign against electronic waste, a dangerous byproduct of technology's relentless expansion. HP and Dell Inc., which together sell more than half the country's PCs, are earning praise from environmentalists for using more eco-friendly components and recycling their products when consumers discard them. "The computer companies are definitely embracing the idea that they need to deal with their products at the end of their useful life," said Barbara Kyle, who coordinates the San Francisco-based non-profit Computer TakeBack Campaign. "There's been a complete turnaround."

But activists say far too much of the nation's electronic garbage — not only PCs but also TVs, radios, batteries and other materials — still ends up in landfills or gets shipped overseas to poor countries, where it pollutes the environment and exposes workers to dangerous chemicals. "The United States is not responsibly managing this waste stream," said Sarah Westervelt of the Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based group that seeks to stop the spread of hazardous waste. "We're allowing it to go offshore and poison developing countries."

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