Comments on: On Wolves and Web Addicts

By: Shaun Roos

Shaun Roos — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:49:18 +0000

I have a facebook, but I hardly find the time to actually go on it. Even during the late hours of the night and I can not get to sleep, I still don’t visit facebook. I send my fiancee a message and see if she responds. If there is silence, i go watch tv or turn on my Xbox and play online with whatever friend is still awake, usually there is 1 or 2. A majority of my “friends” on facebook hardly talk anymore. I find that my current friends are those I work with and see on a regular basis. My thoughts are neutral with technology. Yes, it keeps us in touch with the people we know. But how often do we talk to all of them. I have a handful of people I contact on a regular basis through the social networks. I try to keep a healthy relationship with people in person and through technology

By: James Evans

James Evans — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 01:20:22 +0000

The internet, due to its accessibility and wide array of entertainment, is easy to resort to when one feels lonely (along with other medias such as television). The media has played with peoples emotions and has allowed them escapes to uncomfortable emotions. However, this prevents growth and encourages extreme investment in alternatives to real relationships of substance. Reflecting on this particular post provided a lot of insight into myself. I feel that personally much of my time is spent on the internet when I feel as if I do not have much else to engage in. Many times, I actually search to build relationships with others via technology rather than in person.

By: Rachel DeHaan

Rachel DeHaan — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:22:53 +0000

Wow! Some scary stats out there regarding our virtual world and its effects on this generation’s communication and interpersonal skill. As the blog stated, to think that the Internet can lead to, and have similar manifestations of gambling leading to social isolation and depression is frightening and frankly appalling. However, I have witnessed, like it says, many people who would self-disclose and identify themselves as a “loner” to have found that the virtual world has opened up life and relationships in ways they have not yet been able to find elsewhere. It has provided them with human interaction where they have found common ground, ultimately reducing social isolation. Bu the question remains, is that real interaction if it happens via Internet, by phone, or text? I think Jim WIllis said it best when he said that we get the ultimate say in how much is too much, and in what ways we prefer to immerse ourselves in the virtual world. For some, it has quickly become a life they always wanted and opened doors that might not have opened otherwise, and for others, the idea of virtual, online relationships and communication is sickening to think about because of what it has done to the interpersonal skill of this generation. The opinion and the decision is up to

By: Lindsey Hutcheon

Lindsey Hutcheon — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:16:07 +0000

There is no doubt that the Internet is incredibly useful and convenient. We are able to access information within seconds about absolutely anything under the sun. But there is a reality in the fact that we are slowly losing our ability to communicate with others in person. Virtual worlds allow us to create an image for ourselves that we simply cannot control in the “real world.” Outside of our computers, people have conceptualized us based on the reality of our behavior. But online, we can create that for ourselves.

Marriages are being compromised, as well as friendships, and relationships with people’s children. I know a married couple in particular that email one another throughout the day because they are so busy with their jobs that they don’t even have enough time to pick up the phone and call the other person.

What you said in the concluding paragraph of this post really resonated with me. “Ultimately, each of us has to decide for ourselves how much to immerse ourselves in virtual relationships on the Web as opposed to real ones in-person.” We are the deciders of our fate. If we subject ourselves to being 100% immersed in online fixes, then that is the person we will become.

By: Brian Frazier

Brian Frazier — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 16:12:57 +0000

I was able to really relate and understand this blog, this may come to no surprise, but when its late at night i tend to just lay in my bed and stay on my phone till the late hours of the night scrolling through my news feed on Instagram or Facebook. Most of the time i wont even talk to anyone but i tend to just have made it a habit to go straight to the social networks to keep me company in these strange hours of the night. I agree with what you said because just like a person with a gambling addiction they will become depressed and also social isolation. Lately i have been feeling as if all i want to do is lay in my bed and be on my mac book or my phone.

By: Allisa

Allisa — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:05:57 +0000

The use of the internet, social media sites, and cell phones offer many great benefits to its users. Through outlets like Facebook, we are able to connect with distant friends and family with ease, rather than letters and long distant phone calls. There are many positive outcomes of these things, but people can easily abuse it. Without the everyday social interactions, we are able to hide many feelings and social awarenesses since we do not need immediate responses or need for body language, since it is not instantaneously in person. Many people take the use of online social media and texting too far, and remove themselves from the reality of life and actual social interactions. The internet offers so many great things; research, explanations, news, and connections, yet can easily be taken advantage of.

By: Christine Porter

Christine Porter — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 06:07:36 +0000

It is so crazy to me that our society now has come to terms with being “okay” with how much time we are spending on the Internet. I completely agree with the statement about how the use of the Internet is becoming an addiction much like gambling. An addiction of any kind is obviously detrimental to the person and that persons relationships but to loose so much just because we want to spend hours upon hours on the Internet? It is just so sad to think that this is what our society has come to.

By: Ayrin Lockard

Ayrin Lockard — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:39:34 +0000

I have long been awaiting a conversation to take flight that deals with the dangers of spending too much time on the web verses having interpersonal communication. For some, there is nothing like taking time on Facebook to see what one of their “friends” has been up to or to view their latest photos. For me I would rather call them or meet over coffee. I am unlike, according to the PowerPoint New Media Landscape, the 175 million users who have made Facebook the most vistited social media site to date.
There is nothing wrong with having a Facebook, I know many people who have connected with long lost relatives on the site, so it does serve a purpose far beyond what Mark Zuckerberg had anticipated. Yet, have we lost what is is like to hold a conversation with people face-to-face? Have we gotten so used to typing what we feel, that is has become hard to express it through our own lips? Facebook has, “daily traffic that averages about 115 million visitors per day” (Vivian, 2001, Pg. 184), does that mean that those 115 million people have lost a conversation with someone face-to-face that would have been life chaning, worthwhile, or just for fun? Hopefully as time progresse we can being taking our conversations to the interpersonal world, where it all started.

By: Erik Johnson

Erik Johnson — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 03:51:12 +0000

Even though I am a college student, growing up and even still to this day, I would not consider myself very “tech. savvy.” I have personally come to a conclusion that this is a blessing and a curse. I would consider it a curse because, being a college student, I think it is safe to say that a large majority of assignments and projects have something to do with the web. Practically everything that has to do with homework or work that is to be done outside the class somehow involves using a computer and the internet, even if it is not an online class. This is obviously a much easier way for teachers and professors to handle their grading, but for people like me it can make things somewhat difficult. The reason I would consider it a blessing is simply because I can confidently say that I am not apart of the population that is addicted to using the web or putting themselves into isolating positions because of it. Because of this I spend a majority of my time in face to face contact with other people, and really enjoy it. I will say that even though I was very late to obtaining a Facebook account, at least compared to people that I was around, I do take advantage of keeping in touch with friends from high school that I am not in close proximity with. Whether we are several hours apart, or across the nation from each other, I really try to take advantage of the opportunity that the web offers with keeping in touch with them.

By: Brenda Manzo

Brenda Manzo — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:56:27 +0000

I believe that it is fair to say that most of us can agree on how impersonal our relationships have been with one another due to the internet and technological advances. At the same time, we can all agree that even with the research that has been conducted and its findings, none of us would want to give up the advancements we have. It is a love and hate relationship. We love how close Facebook brings us with those that are far away, but we hate how apart we are from those that are right next to us. It is only a matter of time before Facebook is replaced with something more innovative, just as it replaced MySpace and other things.