Internet dependence among college students

June 14, 2000 1:07 PM

Internet dependence among college students Article based on study done by counselor at RPI that identifies characteristics of "internet dependent" students. "What he found is that at least 10 percent of college students use the Internet so much that it interferes with their grades, their health, or their social lives, and that the problem may run much deeper at science-and-engineering institutions."
posted by elgoose (10 comments total)

And before the Internet it was TV.

Or pot.
posted by alan at 1:08 PM on June 14, 2000

So THAT explains why I've no friends, live by myself, and emit a foul odor . . .


posted by aladfar at 2:19 PM on June 14, 2000

Heh. Seperated at birth... Internet-dependant college student or budding web developer.


I have spent more than three continuous hours on the Internet at least twice in the last four weeks. 78.7%

Umm... I have spent more than three continous hours on the Internet at least twice in the last 6 hours...


More than once I have been late for other appointments because I was spending time on the Internet. 66.7%

Just ask my girlfriend, or her parents, how often a "nice family dinner" has turned into "wait for Rob and then start cooking"


More than once I have missed a meal rather than interrupt my time on the Internet. 71.3%

I've heard people refer to this meal, between breakfest and dinner. I don't know what it is though.


I often reduce my sleeping time so I can spend more time on the Internet.

the project needs to get done!
posted by cCranium at 2:32 PM on June 14, 2000

Any college that has dorm net , is bound to have such problems.

Heck we used to send each other ICQs & IMs to our next door neighbours.

It's not a big problem, and as Jay Leno pointed out on Monday in the Headlines segment, the internet addiction is going to be battled "online".
posted by riffola at 5:39 PM on June 14, 2000

They make it sound like a *BAD* thing...

posted by Bane at 10:10 PM on June 14, 2000

What would you rather be hooked on, drugs or the Internet?
posted by Mark at 11:28 PM on June 14, 2000

a sign of true dependence: when i was living in nyc (not in a college), i would icq/aolim my roommate....in the next room.

about the article: i especially was amused by the statement that many of the more 'hard-core' addicts would not have filled out the survey to begin with...because they weren't in class. they should have emailed the thing, eh?
posted by amandaudoff at 12:01 AM on June 15, 2000

Heehee cool. I like reading stories about stuff that took place down the street from me at my home of academia. Anyway, like most everything else, internet addiction has nothing to do with the internet. If you're going to have problems with it, then you might just as well be likely to have problems with alcohol or pig races or something.

If any of Mr. Anderson's suggestions (the "debit system") ever actually happen, I'll walk into the Health Center and personally fwap him.
posted by stefnet at 1:08 AM on June 15, 2000

Re: cCranium's observation that these students sound like budding web developers... exactly.

I'd say 70% of what I learned in my college classes was wankery, while the skills I acquired from spending far too much time on the Internet are now invaluable to my job as a web developer.

Maybe students wouldn't flunk out for spending time online if more colleges had actual courses on the Net and the Web (you know, that teach you information design or HTML, not the standard "this is email" intros or the "social implications of cyberspace" classes where you never actually touch a computer).
posted by wiremommy at 10:13 AM on June 15, 2000

I was actually having a discussion about this with my team leader the other day (we both went to the same college) and we both agreed that college provided us with the ability to learn computer-related information quickly, and that's really all college can do for 'professional' professions.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but college courses for 'vocational' professions (ie, tool and dye makers, lathe operators, illustrators) deal with a lot more practical knowledge.
posted by cCranium at 2:12 PM on June 15, 2000