The bad, bad Internet

I wrote a couple of times about addiction, new cultural developments and the change of values through technology.

Now comes another rebuke of a study in Korea that claims that "Korean students under the age of 20 are spending more leisure time alone in front of computers than with friends or family." It adds that of the interviewed "28,000 elementary, middle and high school students in Korea, nearly 40 percent of the respondents said they play computer games or browse the Internet in their free time. The survey result also indicates 33 percent of Korean students play with friends when not studying, while only 15 percent spend time with family members."

What the study says is that you can either spend time with your family OR on the computer. But not both - a mutually exclusive question and thus, absolute rubbish. The study does not recognise that it is possible to do socialising on the web, such as using
Skype, IM or be active in chat rooms or write emails. Is this not socialising, but socialising on a new or different level?

(By Asia Business Consulting)