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[leeroy]

(This one's real!) - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040114/325/ejcwy.html

Internet fanatics aren't geeks
By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - The typical Internet user -- far from being a geek -- shuns television and actively socialises with friends, a study on surfing habits says.

The findings of the first World Internet Project report present an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner "geek" who spends hours of his free time on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world.

Instead, the typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers, the study added.

"Use of the Internet is reducing television viewing around the world while having little impact on positive aspects of social life," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, the California university that organised the project.

"Most Internet users generally trust the information they find online," he told Reuters via e-mail.

The findings are derived from surveys of Internet and non-Internet users in 14 countries: the United States, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Chile.

The study published on Wednesday does however support some long-established Internet usage trends including the fact that the wealthiest segments of the population are the most avid users and that more men than women surf the Web. But figures vary widely by country.

For example, the gender gap is most pronounced in Italy and smallest in Taiwan. According to the study, 41.7 percent of Italian men are online compared to 21.5 percent of Italian women. In Taiwan, the difference is 25.1 percent for men and 23.5 percent for women.

The digital divide, a phrase used to describe how poverty impacts Web usage, appears to be tightening around the world, Cole said.

In seven of the 12 countries for which the information was available, more than 20 percent of the poorest segment of the population uses the Internet. Sweden, Korea and the U.S. have the highest usage of Internet users among the poor.

SCEPTICAL SWEDES

The credibility of information published on the Internet also received a surprising boost.

Despite the existence of countless spoof Web sites and message boards that carry oddball political rants, more than half of Internet users surveyed said "most or all" of the information they find online is reliable and credible.

The most trusting users are in South Korea while Swedes are the biggest sceptics about the veracity of Web news.

The Chinese, meanwhile, are among the most active Net socialisers. According to the study, Chinese Internet users say they rely on the medium to interact with others who share their political interests, hobbies and faith.

"It's more than in any other country and a significant figure for citizens of a nation in which religion is officially banned," the study said of Chinese users' willingness to discuss religion online with others.

[denise]

Vindication for the daveaholics!

d

[johnslat]

I like the part about shunning TV and socializing with friends. I had no TV in Saudi Arabia during my time there. Why? Well, truth be told, I was afraid of it. I figured if I bought one, it wouldn't be long before I was watching test patterns at 4 am. So, when I returned to the USA, I wasn't sure just how TV would affect my life. Would I succumb to its lures? I thought I might, but I'm glad to report that I watch, at most, about 8 hours a week, whereas, in the past, I'd have that stupid (for the most part) box on all the time. The good news, then, is that TV addiction CAN be licked; the bad news is that now I'm addicted to the Net, instead. Oh well, at least sites such as Dave's are "interactive", not "dumb-down passive" as TV is.
Regards,
John

[Belmont]

Johnslat, just check out your local PBS TV station. It's far from dumbed-down stuff. It'll show you what you've missed all those years of cultural deprivation in Saudi. Your local station needs your support.

[johnslat]

Dear Belmont,
I'm sure you're right about my local PBS station's having worthwhile programming. But what do I cut back on to watch it: reading, writing socializing, working, exercising, sleeping? Ah, I have it - Dave's ESL Cafe.
Seriously - my days are so darn full now that I just don't see how I can fit in more TV. And besides, if I start watching PBS, I'll probably get addicted to THAT (as I am to Dave's), too. Tell you what; I'll just send them a check during their annual fund drive, instead (and fib to people about how I watch it).
Regards,
John

[Capergirl]

We don't need anyone telling us how cool and intelligent we are, do we?

In truth, the myth of the cyber geek persists. Some people really do believe that only the weirdest of the weirdos spend their free time on the net. Obviously, that's not true. Anyone reading posts on this forum, for example, can see that the vast majority of posters are of above average intelligence here. Not only that but anyone who teaches ESL/EFL, especially those travelling the globe to do so, is cool in my books.

Vive la internet!

[ls650]

[johnslat]

Dear ls650,

"But then again, some of us ARE geeks!"

I can't resist:

Geek for youself, please.

Sorry,
John

[Capergirl]

[arioch36]

My PSB station Albany New york, used to have great programming overall. I came back last year, I guess the state cut back on funding (though overall the budget continued to increase) and the progemming was pathetic.

Which is okay, because I watched a lot of Yankees baseball, which is good, because you can easily surf the net or study Chinese during a three hour baseball game

[khmerhit]

Arioch came in with

[/quote]My PSB station Albany New york, used to have great programming overall. I came back last year, I guess the state cut back on funding (though overall the budget continued to increase) and the progemming was pathetic.

Which is okay, because I watched a lot of Yankees baseball, which is good, because you can easily surf the net or study Chinese during a three hour baseball game

[matchstick_man]

Reading is hardly socially interactive in practice. Personally wouldn't a bookish looking person be a geek anyway. That would be most people with the exception of the odd sports ,movie star and supermodel.