How's your Internet use?

[Nords]

Spouse was offline for nearly four days this week and claims that it really bothered her.  I think the worst part for her was the unexpected loss and the anticipation that it'd be back at any time, not the actual lack of interaction. 

But I started wondering:  If you knew that the Internet would go down tomorrow morning for a week's maintenance, how would you cope?  A month?  Three months?  A year? I logged an innocuous 36, but losing the Internet for more than a week would require some significant lifestyle changes.

Internet Addiction Test (IAT)

From the website:  "Remember when answering, only consider the time you spent on-line for non-academic or non-job related purposes."

It'll be interesting to see how the poll results ramp up when the work week begins...

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Score: 9

You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.

I had to answer "Does not apply" to most questions. Like surfing online while putting of chores. Sort of, but I put off chores no matter what I'm doing. Putting off chores is a lifestyle choice for me, not a result internet use. I spend a lot of time online, but generally it doesn't displace something "important" I would be doing anyway...that is to say I put off "important" stuff, but I'll be doing that anyway when watching a movie, going out, reading a book or otherwise entertaining myself.

I can't remember the last time I felt odd about going offline. Heck in March I was away from PCs for at least a week and never thought twice about it.

I use the internet a lot, but I don't emotionally bond online like a lot of others apparently do. I look for ego boosts and self-validation, I think, and probably too much sometimes, but it's not something I miss when I'm offline for a while.

Another odd thing is that the test seems to assume you have a schedule for online time. I'm not a scheduled person; I'm chaotic and to some degree impulsive in my activities. I don't plan to go online for a certain time frame; I just go online until I think of something better to do.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

8. How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?
Does Not Apply

wooohooo!

score 21 but i only hit "does not apply" once when i could have hit it a few times. i didn't realize so many might be so out of control to warrant asking some of those questions.

after wilma de-electrified us last season, i hid out in orlando and tampa for two weeks. every few days i'd spend an hour or so at libraries or college campus computer sites but mostly that was just to find things to do locally and check on news from my area which was otherwise difficult to obtain.

i hardly missed the internet at all. i feel similar about most modern convenience. for instance, i enjoy rides in the vertible but take away petrol & i'd be just as happy, maybe more so, riding horse and buggy to the beach.