Despite the humor in the photos below, web addiction is apparently a serious problem. According to recent research, one in four employees are addicted to the Internet.
It’s not the midday coffees or cigarette breaks that waste the most time – it’s surfing the web. Highlighted as the one of the most highly addictive activities to make its way into the modern workplace. We say ‘workplace’ because this isn’t just an office problem but one that can take place wherever you may be working.
According to the latest metrics from comScore, day-to-day mobile Internet usage in the states doubled over the last year. In January 2008, 10.8 million people visited the mobile Web at least once a day. Now there are some 22.4 million. Most do so looking for news or other basic information, though many are looking for interaction as well. Social networking, for example, saw a massive spike in usage, its audience growing 427 percent year over year.
Professionally, “Studies have shown that from 25 to 50 percent of cyber addiction is occurring at the workplace,” said Dr. Marlene Maheu.
The solution most companies resort to are ‘EIM solutions’, products designed to filter personal Web usage in the workplace. Typically, the software product is installed on the server and integrates with the firewall, cache engine, or proxy server, and via a database or URLs, monitors and controls Web site access.
“Employers should remain proactive in terms of setting clear policies about Internet gambling in the workplace,” said Andy Meyer, vice president of marketing for Websense, “Companies can also enforce those policies with an EIM product that automatically takes the temptation away from employees.”
Over recent years, Web addiction has gradually found its place amongst other more notable disorders. China has officially called web addiction a disorder, saying the condition is as compulsive as gambling or drinking alcohol. The move, made last year, came after one of China’s top legislators said that 10 per cent of the country’s youth were addicted to the internet.
How do you handle web usage at the workplace? Have you got an EIM product installed? Are you trusted to monitor yourself? Most importantly, would you accept that you may be addicted to the web?
(On a less serious note – enjoy the photos below – should have you leaving us with a smile on your face. :)
I am about as addicted to the web as I am to plates, cutlery, brick buildings, cloth, and any other inventions that while technically not a necessity have brought us out of the stoneage. I spend my days on the web. Fine. Some people say that is a problem. Why? The web is a medium, not a location. If I spent all of my day at the pub, or the supermarket, or the toystore, or the gambling room, then that would be a problem… but to spend time on the web is simply to spend time in any and all of those places. I do my shopping, my socializing, my reading, learning, entertainment on the web.
So, seriously, get a grip… internet addiction, computer addictions and game addictions is about as real as plate addictions, glass addictions, clothes addictions… Sure, some guy out there has a problem, but not enough to make even a statistical difference.
If you think the web is something one can get “addicted” to, or spend too much time on, then I pity you for not yet understanding the century you live in.
I am not a firm believer of Internet Addiction. One of the main features of addiction is having complaints, suffer complications of the addiction. The main features of an addiction are social and/or emotional problems leading to doctors visit or other forms of help seeking. So what we are looking for is teenagers using the Internet as there only way to communicate, play and doing that at night. Anyone can explain to them why that isn’t healthy. Internet is mostly defined as excessive use, withdrawal, tolerance and negative consequences. If these flimsy characteristics are followed most of us suffer from all kinds of addictions such as work addiction, sports addiction, chocolate addiction well may be you can think of a few more.
Moreover, it seems that people mistake the medium for the message. When they hear that folks are “addicted to the Internet”, they blame the Internet, the medium, for the problem, whereas the Internet is simply provides a new source of behaviors for people who would have had behavioral addictions anyway. Even incorporating this new medium into our culture will be accompanied by getting used to, finding the right balance in your daily routine.
From a recent discussed study:
previous studies have utilized inconsistent criteria to define Internet addicts, applied recruiting methods that may cause serious sampling bias, and examined data using primarily exploratory rather than confirmatory data analysis techniques to investigate the degree of association rather than causal relationships among variables.
you can read a comment on this study:
http://tinyurl.com/5o6pdm
Take care Dr Shock
Hi man love the picture with the baby can you please email me a larger copy, thanks!
Haha, I should of send you a picture of myself with my laptop.
Totally addicted!
Can I share mine here ? :D
The anachronistic technology makes that slightly less funny.
I have to say I love the web, although I don’t think it is a problematic addiction for me. It’s more of an interest or something I get great gratification out of, looking up anything I’m curious about. I probably do about 10 google searches a day on random questions I don’t know the answer to (one from yesterday was ‘where do tears come from?’)The knowledge of the world is at my finger tips, it’s amazing. I still love reading books though, could never read a novel online, but it is superb for doing research!
i thin you are wrong that is really sad for ppl to act in such a manner
Haha, can’t stop laughing when seeing these photos. Actually, let’s make Internet a tool to boost the productivity, not addicted to it. I have friends spend all the day playing online games.
I’m not addicted.
I can stop anytime I want.
Really.
I just like to use the computer to keep my office warm while I work.
Honest.
I just started playing this new game called evony. It’s pretty sweet I think you guys would like it. Just a simple little flash game, but damn its addicting. You can sign up for an account at evony.com.
Contributors also have an opportunity to reach additional milestones for their ongoing participation. ,
A casino is a medium, too. The addiction you’re denying is the addiction to getting all of those things instantly and more frequently than you normally would. If it’s not affecting your life then it’s not an addiction.