Show Life under siege how computers are ruining everything Chris Cockrell Op Opinion on Writer Hours days months years Add it all up and how much time have you spent in front of a computer screen According to recent studies done by Nielsen Ball State University and other organizations teens and adults are spending an increasingly greater amount of time perched in their chairs with their hands on a keyboard Actual numbers very between studies but its it's clear that many Americans are arc spending 30 or more hours a week online and doing other computer- computer based tasks Its It's really no surprise Its It's not difficult to imagine students the unemployed and anyone with a desk job spending even an entire workday in front of ofa a glowing screen doing everything from typing up papers to project research to balancing their checkbooks And after all the mundane tasks have been completed mail E-mail instant messaging and so soon on At what point do dowe dowe we fight back against this tsunami of technological advancement and s say say y Enough Personally I understand the affliction In fact if Im I'm away from my computer computer or or at least a computer for computer for too long longI I begin to get anxious I pine for the Internet like its it's a lost lover a akey akey akey key component of my existence without which I am incomplete After a awhile awhile awhile while of being separated I just know that I have to get back to it I dont don't really know It'll why I just know that I Ida do Consider this scenario My friend Hey dude do you want to go check checkout checkout checkout out this awesome band tonight Their music is incredible theres there's always a ton of at their shows tonight is free beer night at the bar and theres there's even going to be a million dollar giveaway Me Oh sorry man I cant I have important things to do on all the Internet Yeah that didn't happen But it could have Online role playing gamers garners have it worse A 2008 documentary called Second Sl Skin ll profiles a number of and World of War craft players many of whom spent 40 or more hours a week stuck in these virtual worlds One of the participants Dan got so addicted that he refused to do anything else and as a result lost his girlfriend his business and his home Two others Anthony and Andy were members of a collective of guys who holed themselves up in a house together for over a year to do nothing but play WOW Eventually all three broke away and stopped devoting themselves to this life of battling digital monsters and collecting nonexistent gold Dan went on to get geta a new job Anthony got married Andy got his wife pregnant Did you catch that Yeah apparently getting off the computer and spending time with real people in the real world I increases your odds of building meaningful relationships and apparently even having sex Astonishing That right there should be enough to convince you ou the computer-addicted computer and and you know who you are are to to put down the mouse and step outside for a bit Feel free to go about town speaking to people as you pass and keeping your social skills up to par with little comments like My those storm clouds sure do look ominous And while youre you're at it be sure to do something physical A jumping jack or two never hurt anyone and they're a alot alot alot lot more fun run than the heart disease that inevitably follows a sedentary lifestyle by Red Bulland Bull Bulland Bulland and Hot Pockets To be clear none of this is to say that computers are evil They're not Theres There's certainly no reason to storm the Intel headquarters with torches and pitchforks crying out for blood But exercise caution Recognize the computer for what it is a tool By all means use it for everything from word processing to entertainment but dont don't give your life over to it You are a human being made of flesh and blood and not a digital creation of bits and bytes So smell a flower pet a dog go for fora a run and laugh with a friend in a way that doesn't require you to type LOL j. j to |