Source Applicable to my Topic

Ok, so I found a website with an article discussing the ways Internet use takes more time from family and friend interaction than it does from television watching.

Here is an excerpt from that site:

"Still, the researchers found the average Internet user spends 3 hours per day online, almost double the 1.7 hours the average respondent spends watching television.

Data were collected from a representative sample of 4,839 American respondents between the ages of 18 and 64 in June 2004.

For the average respondent, an hour of time online reduces the amount of time spent with family more than twice as much (23.5 minutes) as it limits daily TV viewing (10 minutes). This amounts to 70 minutes less time spent per day with family, versus c. 30 minutes less time watching television. The study also found the average surfer gets 8.5 minutes less sleep per day due to time spent online." (http://www.clickz.com/3455061)

This little article goes along well with my topic. I feel that in this world, there is so many websites to connect with: facebook, blog, professional sites, twitter, etc... It seems people spend so much time online keeping connected with the world around them that they are spending less time with the people around them. We are so focused on knowing the latest news or being a member of the "hottest" social media site or the "hottest" professional networking sites, that we forget to value the little things in life. We forget to just relax, chill out, and enjoy the blessings we already have. It gets to be overwhelming sometimes when we always hear about blogs, twitter, facebook, linkedin, and if we aren't consistent users, we tend to feel behind or out of the loop. Is all of this web pressure necessary? Personally, I think all these web outlets are helpful and useful, but the pressure to constantly be connected to the web is so unhealthy. We have plenty to do and enjoy each day of our lives without feeling like we have to practically live online instead of with the people around us.

So here's

So here's my first blog post for this blog. It will just be a bit of an intro...getting a few of my thoughts on the matter out on paper....or web!

Ok, so first of all has anyone out there seen the movie Surrogates. I recently saw it in the dollar theater. Basically it is about people who live through these robotic creatures called surrogates. A person can stay home in his/her pajamas all day while connected up to some device over his eyes which allows him to see what the surrogate sees. These surrogates can be any body shape or size...usually a younger and more beautiful depiction of the owner. This way people avoid dangerous situations by living vicariously through these robots. So if a surrogate is harmed, no death or harm actually occurs in the real individual-he/she just has to get a new surrogate. But eventually an individual does die by being connected to the surrogate and being fried through the eyes, and then things start happening. Basically to me this movie shows how in this world people are getting so hooked on technology and web media that they forget to really live and interact with those around them. People can pretend to be anyone they want behind the walls of a computer screen. People can sit home and play games online, chat through facebook, msn, etc. They can get updates through twitter, online news sites. People can even buy groceries and clothes online. These days it seems everyone needs a twitter, a facebook, maybe a blog...etc. The world is becoming a very online-media based community. My question to you: Is this ever increasing pressure to be connected and up to date through the web and all of its new amenities a good thing or should we slow down and just interact more in some of the old fashioned ways? What will happen in the future if this ever increasing trend of

more and more online connection to the world around us continues to increase?