Would You Be Depressed Without the Internet?
SodaHead Living
2011/08/12 23:27:59
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Withdrawal symptoms are no longer just for people trying to give up drugs or booze. According to a new study, unplugging from the Internet can be just as difficult.
"Our addiction is so severe that people described going 24 hours without Internet akin to quitting an alcohol or cigarette habit," said a report from the British company Intersperience. "About 40% of those surveyed reported feeling lonely without the Internet, and 53% felt upset at being deprived."
Another study, conducted by the University of Maryland supported these findings. 1,000 students from 10 countries were asked to abstain from all forms of media for one day. After 24 hours they reported back on their successes, failures, and feelings about the experience of unplugging.
Many students spoke about their relationship to media as a form of addiction and admitted to experiencing cravings and withdrawal-type symptoms while abstaining. One said, “Media is my drug; without it I was lost.”
Others reported feeling bored, lonely, anxious, and depressed. “The lack of media had me in a terrible mood all day. I was anxious and annoyed at pretty much everything. Trivial things that usually didn’t bother me that much drove me insane,” said an American student.
What about you? Would you be depressed without the Internet?
A collection of student responses to unplugging:
"Our addiction is so severe that people described going 24 hours without Internet akin to quitting an alcohol or cigarette habit," said a report from the British company Intersperience. "About 40% of those surveyed reported feeling lonely without the Internet, and 53% felt upset at being deprived."
Another study, conducted by the University of Maryland supported these findings. 1,000 students from 10 countries were asked to abstain from all forms of media for one day. After 24 hours they reported back on their successes, failures, and feelings about the experience of unplugging.
Many students spoke about their relationship to media as a form of addiction and admitted to experiencing cravings and withdrawal-type symptoms while abstaining. One said, “Media is my drug; without it I was lost.”
Others reported feeling bored, lonely, anxious, and depressed. “The lack of media had me in a terrible mood all day. I was anxious and annoyed at pretty much everything. Trivial things that usually didn’t bother me that much drove me insane,” said an American student.
What about you? Would you be depressed without the Internet?
A collection of student responses to unplugging:
Read More: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08...
Top Opinion
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Pops 2011/08/13 20:10:00
Anyway, if you weren't such an illiterate, you'd have seen on my profile that I'm actually a libertarian. I don't like the GOP's attempts to control the lives of american citizens in the private sector by regulating gay marriage (and going against the Constitution by supporting the Defense of marriage act), and later trying to control the reproductive rights of women everywhere trying to procure an abortion.
around the world. Overall, I think I wouldn't get as much done
without the net... so handy, but so distracting, as well. :O)
For the young people that have never known life without it, it might take some adjustment, but they'd get over it. They might actually realize there's a real world out there.