What is Digg?63 Comments
- Pluckie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+25My name is Peter and I have a problem.
- Ascendant, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18If this is sick, I don't want to be well.
- ArchieAndrews, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Hi Peter.
- rcran, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Hello, Peter.
- masamunecyrus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9The difference would be that we aren't addicted to a fermented barley drink, we don't shun the rest of the world so that we can drink, we can control ourselves while using the internet (i.e., we're not drunk while reading digg), and we actually learn something from our "addiction" (read: hobby).
- ArchieAndrews, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I am pretty sure it involves a WoW account somehow.
- seanalltogether, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I don't consider myself sick, I consider myself sch0lar!y
- waytoorandomx, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I'm an addict. Where do I go for rehab?
- eggo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I 100% agree with the headline. Internet addicts are every bit as ill as alcoholics. That is to say, not ill at all. Lack of self control is not a disease, cancer is a disease, AIDS is a disease. People who don't want to accept responsibility for their actions may like to pretend they are not in charge of what they do, but that doesn't make it so.
/rant - nreynolds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6dysentery is a *gross* disease
- HP844182, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6We've been there Peter.
- digitalsin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I s'pose we could sit in an internet cafe for 24 hours a day and farm WoW gold. Then we could just call it a career. Oh, but that only works in Korea.
- kortina, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"More than 8% of those surveyed said they hid internet use from family, friends and employers, and the same percentage confessed to going online to flee from real-world problems."
It's got to be more than that--look at how many diggs the article below has:
http://digg.com/software/Tired_of_prying_eyes_at_work - eddieo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Thank you for sharing.
Keep coming back, it works if you work it... - acidhash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Except alcohol kills.
- terrya64, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I will admit to being on the Internet for quite a while, for me it has taken the place of time that would have been spent in front of the tv. I get my news, do all my banking and researching hobbies and running a personal business with the net.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Hi Peter
- iomegaboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yeah, I got cirrhosis of the clicker.
- nreynolds, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yep, we're definitely "as ill as alcoholics" and by that I mean "not sick at all" since alcoholism isn't a disease. Review South Park for more info....
- macross9321, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4am an addict and my two top drugs are digg and stumble
- Zreitan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4i can quit anytime i want!!! you *****... lets go outside!..ill kick my own ass!
- lozaning, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3www.internetrehab.com
- zweben, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://www.netaddiction.com/
(Sad thing is, this one's a real site.) - maledin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3In response, tell me one thing.
If internet addicts are as ill as alcoholics, then where do we put 'average' television viewers? Supposedly the average household watches 8 and a half hours of televesion a day, a completely passive activity. I can justify my excessive internet use by saying I am actually active in doing so. I gain knowledge, I communicate, I do work.
Is it really that bad? - sembetu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Peter, Denial is not just a river in Egypt, your are amongst friends here. Would you like some coffee?
- foamweapons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Your future confession at rehab:
"I used to stumble upon. People used to say it's no big deal, try it out, it's just a collection of links. Then 5 hours later I can't stop looking at Stuff on Cats or the History of Eating Utensils. No big deal??? Tell that to my family."
*breaks down crying* - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Bitch *****.
- SPThom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A couple of points:
1) How many *fewer* people say the same things about TV nowadays because the Internet is a more fulfilling outlet? You've got people with addictive & avoidant personalities... They're going to find an outlet somewhere.
2) Some of the more psychological "needs" referred to--escaping tense situations, hiding from family, etc.--may be good signs of addiction, but general usage isn't. "Difficult to stay away from the Internet"? Is that surprising when the Net has largely usurped the evening news, newspapers, the ol' Webster's Dictionary, the telephone, etc.? It's not necessarily because of psychological addiction, it's because of practical dependency on it, in the same way it's hard to get to work without driving your car. - manicleek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Alcoholics are not ill, they are no more ill than people who eat too many burgers or smoke cigarettes.
Alocoholism is NOT a disease, Alzheimers is a disease, dysentry is a disease, Alcoholism is an addiction, and a mental addiction at that.
Even smack heads have something on alcoholics when it comes to trying to get off the stuff in that its a physical addiction and hard to stop - eulergamma, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I can't :)
- UnderWurlde, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Since you're not actively involved in a social exchange, which is defined as an exchange between two or more PHYSICAL people, you are socially deprived and, therefore, ill or addicted.
Health is defined not merely as an absence of symptoms, but physical, social and mental well-being. Thank god, those psychiatrists have good drugs to help us beat the disease!
Television is entertainment - you cannot be addicted to entertainment, it is a whole industry which generates jobs and much financial wellbeing to many top brass *sarcasm*.
You can listen to TV in a bar, with your family, with friends, or at your local Best Buy. Whereas computing is a very solitary activity, and you are communicating with others via a keyboard; this is a key factor, since you have time to think about what you wish to express, you can research it thoroughly, and this communication lacks any spontaneity.
Luckily, in a few years, as this cultural phenomenon is socially acceptable, those stereotypes will disappear.
BTW, I'm just playing devil's advocate here -- I'm as "addicted" as anyone here! Others would call it "passionate", but who are we to debate the "scientists" also known as "shrinks" !! - ProfChaosOmega, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2my carpal tunnel is from using my mouse, not masturbation!
- themutt22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I can quit the Internet anytime I want to.
I just choose not to. :/ - macman81, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Does anybody else see the irony in having an internet addiction recovery WEBSITE?
- sixfoot6, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Is it okay to fiendishly chain smoke in here?
- Hegemony, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If I could shoot the Internet into my veins I would... I think I have a problem.
- donolsen1155, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2For those of us old enough, does that mean that BBSs were our gateway drug?
Does anybody know where we can get something a bit more hard core? This net doesn't get me high anymore. :( - gravemoss, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2actually alchol is phsycally addictive just as is heroin, in fact the DT's can kill you, while heroin widthdrawl will not. (only based upon phsycal symptoms, the mental deperssion in either drug can lead to suicide). is the internet addictive? well it all depends on the chemical release that is provided to the brain when the internet is accessed by a user, if this release is altered by heavy internet usage, then i would consider it addictive.
- PYREX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2lets see
alcohol addiction = nephritis of the kidneys, dead brain cells
internet addiction = reading news & discussing topics w/ communities of people to become more well rounded.
yea. they're the same thing exactly.
now porn addiction, or MMORPG addiction; that might be as bad lol. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sometimes I don't even go to bed now, I just open up notepad and fall asleep on my keyboard. If I do go to bed, I bring my mouse to protect me from the monsters in my closet.
- Funkomoto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1$5 says the start prescribing drugs to help fight internet addiction one of these days...
And how can they combine everything you do on the internet into a single category? obviously looking at porn, and looking at wikipedia are two entirely different things, and both are done on the net.
Ridiculous. - reeder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This sort of non-specific labeling is ridiculous, reactionary, and definitely not helpful for those who do have a real problem.
For instance, it does not separate those who look at porn from those who look at PBS.org.
How can one discern anything from this study, or any like it? - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Enya? You thought of that on your own. I think this is a whoever smelled it dealt it scenario.
- ruprecht, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1People "go out of their way to hide" chocolate use and reading girly mags and their penchant for stamp collecting. People slump in front of the telly, or go to the gym, or listen to Enya "to cure foul moods" - essentially "self medicating". How many people would find it "difficult to stay away from" their car, or their cellphone? How many "personal relationships (have) suffered" due to watching sports, or being passionate about woodworking?
These are equally "illnesses" according to this study. Shame on you New Scientist - you've always got to have a sensationalist article haven't you? - AlbinoRaven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hooray!!
Yet another "disease" that the INSURANCE INDUSTRY can pass the costs onto the average insurance payee.
Once upon a time, someone that drank too much was a drunk and was treated as such. That is until the drunk "cleaned up" their act. Now it's a disease that requires immediate intervention, instead of the individual coming to self realisation it involves guilt and lots of it.
Now it's people that are online and READING too much. It's a good thing that now it has been classified as a disease the insurance industry can do something about it and so can a psychologist. Because we all know that the cure to reading information on the internet involves lots and lots of money.
I hope that in the future that the same determined "researchers" find people that read more than three books a week are addicted and start to involve the insurance industry.
After all we can't have a population too literate, then we wouldn't have a need for literacy programs because of the this scourge called "READING". Stop the scourge now, whack yourselves with ballpin hammers and stop reading today! - Almadiel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Nothing more than an attempt to make people feel guilty for their lifestyle choices. Anyone who is different must necessarily be sick. This argument has been made about everything from chocolate to sports.
- Intrepion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hello, my name is Oliver and I'm a diggaholic.
- ruprecht, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Busted :)
- flashboy131, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1it's not a habit, it's cool
I feel alright. - redneckblues, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1O RLY? Watch this: CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL! I can feel it coursing through my tubes! The internet does not impair my judgement.
-
Show 51 - 63 of 63 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is