I've spent the weekend reading books and reading online due to not feeling well. I just happened upon a couple of articles on this very subject. I guess the internet, for all it's connecting and networking, actually has the opposite effect of what you think. It causes more depression and loneliness as people stay home away from human interactions. In the first concentrated study of the social and psychological effects of Internet use at home, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that people who spend even a few hours a week online experience higher levels of depression and loneliness than they would have if they used the computer network less frequently. Those participants who were lonelier and more depressed at the start of the two-year study, as determined by a standard questionnaire administered to all the subjects, were not more likely to use the Internet. Instead, Internet use itself appeared to cause a decline in psychological well-being, the researchers said. The results of the $1.5 million project ran completely contrary to expectations of the social scientists who designed it and to many of the organizations that financed the study. These included technology companies like Intel Corp., Hewlett Packard, AT&T Research and Apple Computer, as well as the National Science Foundation. "We were shocked by the findings, because they are counterintuitive to what we know about how socially the Internet is being used," said Robert Kraut, a social psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon's Human Computer Interaction Institute. "We are not talking here about the extremes. These were normal adults and their families, and on average, for those who used the Internet most, things got worse." The Internet has been praised as superior to television and other "passive" media because it allows users to choose the kind of information they want to receive, and often, to respond actively to it in the form of e-mail exchanges with other users, chat rooms or electronic bulletin board postings. more here: http://www.healthyplace.com/addicti...logical-effects-of-internet-use/menu-id-1105/ However, this preliminary analysis yields initial data which can be utilized to draw several hypotheses to use in further investigations. On-line users who pre-morbidly demonstrate highly developed abstract thinking skills may develop addictive patterns of Internet use as they are drawn to the mental stimulation offered through the infinite databases and information available. On-line users who tend to lead a more solitary and socially inactive lifestyle may be at greater risk for pathological Internet use more here: http://www.healthyplace.com/addicti...ts-linked-to-internet-addiction/menu-id-1105/ I don't have Twitter or Myspace. I have a Facebook and use it with my two best friends to do three way communicating where we plan our social functions. Otherwise, I have no interest in Facebook.
Yup Good info Jordan. Point in case, I try to stay away from the net as much as possible, I stopped blogging on what I have deemed a poor site, hater site, and even though I have read on this site for a awhile, I was never a member. Now i'm off hater site, I'm on here, FB with nothing on my profile, and a Twitter account w/ 10 post.:smt028
i don't see anything wrong with fbook?? but i'd agree with everyone who says DO NOT POST ANYTHING that your boss can see!!!
Nothing wrong I don't think there's anything inherantly wrong with FB, even myspace, or anything else for that matter. I think issues and couple of other people feel that people, maybe our very own selfs, have found ourselfs spending a lot of time on these type sites when we could literally be out physically interacting with some of those people.
I spend a lot of time on the internet everyday but have very few people on facebook ..it is a nice site for people that dont live very close to you...and i dont add everyone i meet online
This is very true. But I do see value in those types of sites for people like me - single, living with a young child. I have very limited opportunities to leave the apartment without my child in tow or without spending money on a sitter. So, whilst I enjoy interacting with people in person, it's not always an option for me, except on weekends I don't have my little one. They do serve a purpose, but it's a nice reminder to not rely on them for all of your day-to-day communication. :smt023
i can count on one of my hand only the people from this site that i will add and Flyingeek you can always be one of the people
Facebook... You know it's great for reconnecting w/old friends, acquaintances, etc..but, yes, i agree,.. it's a bit too much sometimes...
