Have We Become Too Internet Dependent?
Yesterday, my boyfriend and I were having a friendly banter over some obscure celebrity fact in which he proclaimed, “Don’t make me take this to the Internet!” And truth be told, it made me realize how incredibly dependent we have become on the Internet, almost treating everything we read on it as fact. Scary.
Since its inception, the Internet has quickly developed into this vast resource upon which we send and receive endless amounts of information. Now, my profession is centered almost entirely around using the Internet, but just for kicks- I decided that it would be fun to see how often I use the Internet on any given day for things that are non-work related. Below is a sampling of a typical day:
A Day in the Life of an Internet Junkie
- Wake up and check weather online
- check email (s)
- check Facebook
- check Twitter & TweetDeck
- begin work- but first check and respond to any emails
- During breaks, check email again
- correspond w/ various friends and/or co-workers via AIM or Yahoo Instant Messenger
- periodically check news
- check blog feeds for anything new
- log into Facebook & play Tetris for a bit
- check weather for tomorrow
- maybe watch the latest episode of the Simpsons or Family Guy online
- look up recipes for dinner
- maybe watch a movie on YouTube
Ridiculous isn’t it? These are just some of the inane things that I do online, but I’m am sure that I am not the only one out there. Half the time, when my boyfriend walks in the door, he’ll head straight for the computer. An avid classical guitarist, I’ll look over and notice him surfing the net in search of sheet music or watching YouTube videos of famous classical guitarists. Other times, he’s looking at Wikipedia, checking his email accounts or watching the Simpsons.
How the Internet Plays a Role in Business Today
Enough about our personal obsessions with the Internet; now the question becomes: “Are businesses too dependent?” When asked this question, I don’t think that it’s a matter of businesses becoming too dependent on the Internet. Rather, I think that the methods for marketing have changed to where the Internet is simply more appealing to a wider consumer base. If you take a look at people like my boyfriend and I, statistics show that the majority of households have at least one computer and that increasing numbers of people spend their free time surfing online. So, what better way to reach consumers than where they spend the most time?
What do you think about the Internet? How does it affect your personal life? Do you think that businesses will continue to benefit from Internet growth?
For more information about Internet marketing, visit Create Business Growth today!
[photo credit: Edgar H.]
December 03 2008 02:00 am | Marketing
Karl Staib - Work Happy Now on 04 Dec 2008 at 10:57 pm #
Hi, my name is Karl and I’m too dependent on the Internet. The problem is I don’t want to quit. I love the friends I’ve made. I just need to make sure I keep a good balance.
Southern Highlands real estate on 09 Oct 2009 at 2:49 am #
Yes we’ve become too much dependent upon Internet, I am one of them but how easy it becomes if you can see the weather from your desktop toolbar?
I use Google and have kept Google Talk for auto sign-in, it shows me all the new mails.
I am not sure about many Weather gadgets on Windows but I think Windows Vista has it and on Windows XP as well you can get it (google it). I get to see it easily on Linux though.
Thankfully I don’t waste my time on Facebook anymore as I’ve already realized how much time I wasted on Orkut and it was all too useless. But apart from being social, I am not shy to say that Yes, I am an Internet addict LOL.
Mark Hostetler