One of the objective facts of today's reality is that internet addiction is gradually gaining ground among other human addictions. In fact, for some people, it's becoming so severe that they're willing to give up their traditional morning coffee if they have to choose between a dose of caffeine and the opportunity to surf the web. This was revealed by a study conducted by American researchers.
According to survey results, 93% of employed Americans in the United States access the internet during the workday, with 86% of them doing so for personal reasons. And 52% of respondents would gladly trade a cup of coffee for the chance to stay connected. For these people, being separated from their beloved computer with access to the World Wide Web is tantamount to a tragedy.
As for time, Americans spend an average of almost 13 hours a week surfing the internet. Of this time, they spend roughly a quarter of their time not pursuing professional interests, but simply surfing the web. As a result, some companies have even decided to limit their employees' internet access to six hours per week. This is intended to discipline those who overuse the internet.
Incidentally, there were more men than women among them. The percentage of males suffering from severe internet addiction was 62% of respondents. Among women, only 54% admitted to this harmful online habit.
The first thing these people pay attention to are various websites. Personal email accounts are the second most visited. Slightly less popular are online banking services, travel sites, and online stores. Moreover, the websites visited during work hours are usually unrelated to their professional activities.
The surveys also confirmed the well-known fact that men are increasingly visiting sports websites and accessing financial information online. Pornography, a scourge of the internet that various agencies have long and unsuccessfully fought against, accounts for about a quarter of the men surveyed.
Also popular are internet services such as television and radio broadcasting, as well as all kinds of instant messengers, which distract two-thirds of the people in the focus groups from work.
Statistical surveys have also revealed an interesting fact: the number of people playing computer games at work is steadily declining. While last year, 14% of American workers dabbled in virtual reality gaming, today that figure is only 6%.
As a result, one can easily paint a portrait of the average American employee at work. They sit at a computer connected to the internet, reading the latest news online, and while doing their job, chatting with old friends and making new ones through ICQ, MSN Messenger, and other similar programs and online dating services. The internet replaces their bank and store, and the cherished word “online” means far more to them than any innocent stimulant, be it coffee or cigarettes.
