The study compared two siblings. one was an addict and the other was not. Scientists found the same anomaly in both, suggesting it’s genetic. Next their brains were compared to participants with no history of addiction. There was no anomaly. Essentially the anomaly is an enlarged section of the fronto-striatal systems. This area is associated with controlling ones behavior.

Dr. Karen Ersche of the Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute (BCNI) at the University of Cambridge comments on the findings:

“Parts of their brains’ underlying self-control abilities work less efficiently. The use of addictive drugs, such as cocaine, further exacerbates this problem, paving the way for addiction to develop from occasional use.”

“While we still have more work to do to fully address the reasons why some family members show a greater resilience against addiction, our results will provide the scientific basis for the development of more effective preventative and therapeutic strategies for people at risk of addiction,”

Perhaps these findings can be used to prevent or treat addiction in the future.

Really. Researchers at Chicago University’s Booth Business School are publishing a study that states Twitter is harder to resist than those two controlled substances. One researcher asserts that the social media site “may be comparatively harder to resist because of their high availability and also because it feels like it does not ‘cost much’ to engage these activities.”

I suppose arguing that Twitter irresistibility is owed to the fact that it doesn’t “cost much” is fair because, after all, using Twitter will negatively impact your life a lot less than, say, cirrhosis or lung cancer. By that metric, though, Twitter is harder to resist than lots of other things. Let us ponder a moment and compare the urge to tweet to other urges. Like a fill in the blank game: ‘Twitter is harder to resist than ______________.” My offerings:

What an easy game to play.

Sorry, Chicago Business school, but this sounds like science for the junk yard. Twitter’s not going to kill anybody and so, as long as Tweeters aren’t making anybody’s life inconvenient with their habit, who cares if it’s harder to resist than booze and smokes. I don’t have any tactful way to say it other than that. Since we’re talking about alcohol, cigarettes, and Twitter in the same context, here are some recent tweets from Drunk Hulk and Nick Nolte’s Mugshot that I think are pretty fun.

Quite a lot, according to a survey by TeleNav.

One-third of those surveyed said that they would give up sex for a week if it meant they could hang on to their mobile devices. Of those respondents, 70% were women (there’s a joke here…).

It is amazing how many Americans would be willing to forgo certain everyday things if it meant holding on to their phones. Here is a short infographic by TeleNav -

The 20% who would be willing to give up their computer makes sense, in fact, I’m surprised it’s not higher. But the 70% that would give up alcohol? No phone is awesome enough for me to give up beer for a whole week. I shiver at the thought.

It’s also interesting to see that both iPhone and Android users are jerks in their own ways. More Android users admitted to breaking up with someone with text or social media, but more iPhone users reported “regularly checking” their device at the dinner table.

When it comes to users’ opinion of their own brand, iPhoners win. 83% of iPhone users said that other iPhone users would make the best lovers. That compares to 70% of Android users and only 48% of Blackberry users.

Some more interesting findings that weren’t included in the infographic -

• Smartphone users were twice as likely to forgo hot showers for a week than feature phone users if it meant keeping their phones
• Smartphones users were also twice as likely to give up TV that feature phone users
• iPhone users were more willing to go without shoes for a week to keep their phones – 43%.  To that hypothetical, Android and Blackberry users registered 27% and 25%, respectively

I’d sure like to see the time frame extended on a survey like this. What if you had to give up your mobile device for a month…a year? I bet it would be amazing what people would be willing to sacrifice to avoid that horror.

Would you give up sex or shoes for a week to keep your smartphone? Let us know in the comments.

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/sex-showers-chocolate-or-smartphones-2011-08/feed 0 http://www.webpronews.com/addicted-to-social-media-2011-04 http://www.webpronews.com/addicted-to-social-media-2011-04#comments Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:29:39 +0000 Josh Wolford http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61794 I can’t remember the last time I went without my smartphone. Camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains, miles away from civilization, I still walked far enough out to get a signal and some edge service. Don’t judge, I really wanted to check Facebook it was the NCAA tournament and my Cats were playing. Apparently, I’m not alone in my inability to disconnect. A new study shows that students experience withdrawal similar to drug addiction when separated from the internet – for just one day.

A global media study called “The World Unplugged” asked 1,000 students aged 17-23 to abstain from any form of media for a whole 24 hours. The study, run by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda (University of Maryland), compiled surveys from young adults in ten countries around the world, including Lebanon, China, Uganda, Argentina and the U.S.

The researchers found that if the students were able to completely abstain (a big if), then they reported anxiety, cravings and depression. They felt disconnected from the outside world, and felt as though they had lost a part of themselves by extension. A student from the United Kingdom said that he “was an addict.” An American student said that he “was itching, like a crackhead because [he] couldn’t use his phone.” A student from Slovakia said they “sometimes felt dead.”

How addicted are you to social media? Tell us what you think

Whoa. Weighty stuff. I wouldn’t be too quick to toss this up to juvenile dramatics, however. I’m not sure that many of the reactions to a no-media day would be any different coming from 40-something business professionals. The researchers documented the responses in what they call the “addiction grid.”



Some major observations made by the study:

• A clear majority were unable to fully complete the 24 hour ban. Whether this was due to a lack of fortitude, or the students “had” to use media for work, most countries in the study failed to abstain completely.
• The study found that the students described their digital selves and extensions of their real selves, but were unable to differentiate one from the other. A Mexican student said, “it was an unpleasant surprise to realize that I am in a state of constant distraction, as if my real life and my virtual life were coexisting in different planes, but in equal time.”
• The students reported that Facebook is essential to maintaining any sort of social life. Without it, you have no chance to tether yourself to a group of friends.
• The study found that the term “news” has been completely skewed by the reliance on social media. Students reported that they had no idea what was going on in the world, but not because they couldn’t check CNN or BBC, but because they couldn’t see what their friends were saying on Facebook and Twitter. “News” to them is anything that happens, globally of locally. They also rely more on social media sites to provide their news as opposed to going out and finding it themselves.
• 140 characters is enough. The students were happy to give and receive information in the quick hit format.
• They didn’t miss email as much as social networking sites, but they don’t think email is dead.  It is just for “older” demographics and for work.

The study apparently caused some students to lament their addictions to media, and espouse the benefits of “unplugging.” Directly from the study;

“We live too quickly,” said a student in Slovakia. “We call our friends or chat with them when we need them – that is the way we have gotten used to relationships.” And the problems for some students went beyond loneliness. Some came to recognize that ‘virtual’ connections had been substituting for real ones – their relationship to media was one of the closest “friendships” they had.

Although some students felt the benefits of unplugging, most felt anxiety, boredom, isolation and distress.



Whats does the study teach, according to the researchers? That young people are pretty much unable to control their everyday lives without social media. The study also has some unintended benefits for developers of media technology and advertisers. According to the researchers, the kids were “media agnostic” for the most part.

Young people around the world care most about whatever latest hardware or app can connect them most quickly to the people they most value. The students may have settled in for the foreseeable future with familiar social networks (Facebook, Twitter), they may have definite preferences about their favorite brands of phones (Blackberry v. iPhone), but the next “better” thing will get quickly picked up by the early adopters, and either steal market share or entirely displace older tools and technologies.

Whether addiction to technology is a real condition or not, people seem to feel addicted. And really, that’s all that matters.

Have you ever tried to sustain long periods of time without the internet? Let us know.

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/addicted-to-social-media-2011-04/feed 19 http://www.webpronews.com/government-shutdown-blackberry-withdrawal-2011-04 http://www.webpronews.com/government-shutdown-blackberry-withdrawal-2011-04#comments Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:33:23 +0000 Josh Wolford http://www.webpronews.com/?p=61845 Today, Washington scrambles to come up with some sort of budget compromise in order to avoid the imminent shutdown of the government.  While President Obama, Harry Reid and Speaker Boehner attempt to work out some sort of deal, many government employees lower on the totem pole worry that a shutdown could separate them from their information lifelines – their BlackBerrys.

It’s not news that the majority of Washington employees use BlackBerrys as their primary form of data communication.  While many have personal devices of other platforms, they conduct most of their business on their government-issued BlackBerrys.  If no deal is reached and the government does in fact shut down tonight at midnight, congressional staffers might have to turn over their devices before they exit Washington.

According to an old provision, government workers deemed “non-essential” are unable to work during a furlough, even if they volunteer.  If the government shuts down, many congressional staffers will find themselves on such furloughs.  This means they would be unable to use their devices for calls, texts and checking their official emails.  This proposition is currently freaking out the staffers.  From the Washington Post:

My wife and kids would probably like it for a couple of days,” said Kevin Bishop, communications director for Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), whose mobile device has made it possible for him to do his job from the senator’s Greenville office. “I’m not sure I could handle it, though. It’s basically a part of who you are, from the moment you wake up in the morning to the moment you go to bed at night.”

The big question is how is this rule going to be enforced?  There is little way to monitor the way a staffer checks his communications from home.  The Post reports that a senate committee staffer thinks the rule is going to involve “reading but not writing” on the devices.  I guess they could always just drop them in a basket on the way out.

It seems as though congressional staffers are as addicted as teenagers to their mobile devices.  They worry that time-sensitive material will not be attended to and they fear the backup of messages that will come pouring down once their access is restored.

Ben Smith at Politico offers an interesting take on the media shutdown.  He thinks that it might show the public which legislators are the most active on Twitter and Facebook – for real.  Their staffers wouldn’t be allowed to post on their behalf, so we might get to figure out who among the congresspeople are truly in tune with the technology and who have been passing it on for years.

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/government-shutdown-blackberry-withdrawal-2011-04/feed 2 http://www.webpronews.com/a-wild-week-for-facebook-and-its-users-2009-02 http://www.webpronews.com/a-wild-week-for-facebook-and-its-users-2009-02#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:10:03 +0000 Frank Reed http://www.webpronews.com/?p=48755 Facebook has had quite a week. If it is true that there is no such thing as bad publicity then this week has been a windfall for the social networking giant. I have even read some conspiracy theorists who believe that the whole terms of service ‘incident’ was intended. I’m not sure I can go there but to be honest it does make some sense.]]> Facebook has had quite a week. If it is true that there is no such thing as bad publicity then this week has been a windfall for the social networking giant. I have even read some conspiracy theorists who believe that the whole terms of service ‘incident’ was intended. I’m not sure I can go there but to be honest it does make some sense. They amount of new traffic and new visitors compared to those who may have de-Facebooked themselves is probably significant. Many fence sitters may have gotten curious enough to finally check it out while those who left had grown weary of it in the first place. It’s the classic case of so many theories and so little time.

It appears as if the Facebook publicity train has run out of steam, though. I say that because today’s WSJ ran a story of people who have decided that giving up Facebook for Lent is their big sacrifice. I realize that may sound a bit absurd thus my saying that this train may have run out of steam. It does, however, give some insight into just how deeply embedded social media can get in anyone’s life and makes it so attractive to marketers of just about anything.

The article talks about adults taking this journey not just the younger set that have grown up with Facebook. The amount of uncertainty, hand wringing and preparation of excuses in case of slips is both amusing and disturbing at the same time. The Pew Research Institute places the daily usage for 18-24 year olds of social media like Facebook and MySpace at 50%. That’s a strong number from any perspective but marketers want a piece of that audience for sure. Only 13% of the rest of Internet users have the same habit but they buy stuff too, right? One of those 13% is a 39 year-old electrician who says he updates his Facebook status about 20 times a day. I hope he doesn’t cross any wires in the process.

The most telling account may have been given by a college student and her experience with walking away from her social media habit (in this case Facebook) for 40 days.

College students who have abstained from Facebook for Lent in recent years say it was brutal, but valuable. Whitley Leiss, now a junior at Texas Christian University, slipped up only once, on her birthday, when she was desperate to see the well-wishes posted for her. She asked a roommate to log into her account and read them aloud while she averted her eyes from the screen. When Lent ended, she logged on to find dozens of messages waiting and strangely little desire to answer them.

“I saw all that I had missed,” Ms. Leiss said. “And I realized I hadn’t missed anything.” She also learned, she says, who her true friends were — those who would take the radically retro step of calling or emailing to stay in touch.

Since the Marketing Pilgrim crowd rates very high on the social media usage scale it begs the question “If you chose to step away from social media for 40 days what impact would it have on your life? Could you or would you even attempt to do it? If you do we’ll make sure to e-mail you while you’re away.

Comments

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/a-wild-week-for-facebook-and-its-users-2009-02/feed 0 http://www.webpronews.com/is-seo-a-job-or-an-addiction-2007-11 http://www.webpronews.com/is-seo-a-job-or-an-addiction-2007-11#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 21:22:40 +0000 Dave Davies http://www.webpronews.com/?p=41788 I was chatting with one of my clients today and he was noting how their site has been holding steady for a while in the top five and how he's now nervous about updates.

]]> I was chatting with one of my clients today and he was noting how their site has been holding steady for a while in the top five and how he’s now nervous about updates.

Funny, you look forward to them when you’re not in the top 20 and you fear them when you enter the top 5.

I realized that my client was not the exception to the rule. I get IMs, calls and emails every day from clients who monitor their sites for the slightest fluctuations. And then I recalled that when I launch my browser in the morning it launches with 4 tabs, 2 with different Google datacenters, one with Yahoo! and one with MSN – all launched with our primary phrase in the search box. OK, maybe, just maybe, I/we have a problem.

I decides to let me fingers do the walking and clicked my way over to helpguide.org’s list of signs and symptoms of addiction. Here’s what they had to say about it (their references are to drugs but we can all make the comparison):

• Inability to relax or have fun without being high … um … in the rankings.
  Do you relax when there’s an update going on and you’re not sure how your site is faring.
• Angry outbursts, mood swings, irritability, manic behavior, or overall attitude change.
  How did you behave the last time your site dropped in the rankings, even temporarily?
• Talking incoherently or making inappropriate remarks.
  Normally towards a monitor.
• Deterioration of physical appearance and grooming.
  No comments needed on this one.
• Wearing sunglasses and/or long sleeve shirts frequently or at inappropriate times.
  Too pale from dark offices to not wear sunglasses and long sleeves outside – even in the harsh moonlight.
• No longer spending time with friends who don’t optimize sites and/or associating with known users.
  Social life? That’s what we do on Facebook when we’re having downtime right?
• Engaging in secretive or suspicious behaviors, such as making frequent trips to the back room, basement, or Starbucks where Internet connectivity use would be undisturbed.
  Excuse me, I just have to check on something quickly (… 2 hours later …)
• Talking about optimization all the time and pressuring others to do it too.
  It’s a great way to make money from home! And you can signup for the affiliate programs in my downline !!!
• Expressing feelings of exhaustion, depression, and hopelessness.
  This doesn’t apply if your site is in the top 10.
• Checking your rankings first thing in the morning.
  If you need to check your rankings more than you need a coffee in the morning – you have a problem.

So it was this that made me really realize it … I have a problem and chances are, if you’re on this blog, you do too. Because most of us don’t have a life outside our computers and SEO conventions (go ahead, admit it) I’ve created a Facebook group for us. Of course we’ll all probably chat about SEO and … ummm …. OK maybe I’m making the problem worse but if you’re not afraid then you can visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5531324665 to join us on the dark side.

Tag:


]]> http://www.webpronews.com/is-seo-a-job-or-an-addiction-2007-11/feed 4 http://www.webpronews.com/web-surfing-beats-sex-and-friendship-2007-09 http://www.webpronews.com/web-surfing-beats-sex-and-friendship-2007-09#comments Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:06:08 +0000 WebProNews Staff http://www.webpronews.com/?p=40540 A survey by ad agency JWT found many people prefer to click their way to happiness on the Internet rather than seek the company of friends or lovers.

It may be time for all of the jokes about being addicted to the Internet to take a break. People do feel strongly about having an available connection online.

A Yahoo News report cited JWT director of trend spotting, Ann Mack, on the findings of the company’s survey of 1,011 American adults. Mack said people feel “anxious, isolated, and bored” when they can’t go online:

“It is taking away from offline activities, among them having sex, socializing face-to-face, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines. It cuts into that share,” said Mack.

“I don’t suppose their partners are too pleased about it.”

Such devotion to the cold flame of the monitor means other things have to give in people’s lives. According to JWT, people want even more of the Internet.

That demand will push greater adoption of mobile technology for wireless Internet access. People want to carry around their ability to feel connected to others, even if it is through packet data rather than conversations or, um, other things.

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/web-surfing-beats-sex-and-friendship-2007-09/feed 2 http://www.webpronews.com/shrink-sets-internet-addiction-terror-alert-to-orange-2007-08 http://www.webpronews.com/shrink-sets-internet-addiction-terror-alert-to-orange-2007-08#comments Wed, 22 Aug 2007 22:45:37 +0000 WebProNews Staff http://www.webpronews.com/?p=39956 If you can't be home from work for five minutes without checking your email, you may have a problem, and it may be worse than you think, says a Tel Aviv psychiatrist. You could be suffering from Internet addiction disorder, or you may just have nothing better to do. ]]> If you can’t be home from work for five minutes without checking your email, you may have a problem, and it may be worse than you think, says a Tel Aviv psychiatrist. You could be suffering from Internet addiction disorder, or you may just have nothing better to do.



Shrink Sets Internet Addiction Alert To Orange

I added the last part.

Dr. Pinhas Dannon of Tel Aviv University suggested the rest, though, and thinks IAD (as we know it will eventually be called) should be upgraded from its current status, filed under Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, to a category that includes kleptomania, as OCD just isn’t as big a deal.

Dannon disagrees that IAD fits to the traditional definition of OCD, which is classified as a "mild to severe mental health condition that results in an urge to engage in ritualistic thoughts and behavior."

Before we move on, let me say that I know a lot of people with OCD (hell, I was raised by them), and OCD behaviors are not "urges," they’re flat-out requirements for peace of mind. That means checking the lights, the stove, the iron, the dryer, your tires, bumpers, and signals, cleaning every speck of dust that can be found, and making sure your clothes are taken out of the dryer immediately before they have a chance to wrinkle.

Not really urges, in my book, and that definition could include anybody that goes to a church, synagogue, mosque, or coven. Check out four other definitions which make more sense.

Anyway, Dannon thinks "urges" is too weak of a word to apply to IAD.

“Internet addiction is not manifesting itself as an ‘urge.’ It’s more than that. It’s a deep ‘craving.’ And if we don’t make the change in the way we classify Internet addiction, we won’t be able to treat it in the proper way.”

Okay, fair enough. A craving, like for cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. A physical or mental manifestation of desire.

Consequently, people with OCD tend to self-medicate via the physical addictions mentioned, and it’s difficult for me to justify that checking email has the same physical release, and almost as difficult to equate to gambling or sex, which are also actions performed as a kind of self-medication, stemming from other psychological issues. So just how, exactly, getting on the Internet satisfies some physical or primal need stemming from driving psychological forces is unclear. 

Or maybe it’s a more difficult line to draw between mental cravings and mental urges, or even distinguishing between an urge that drives one to irrational safety precautions and seemingly compulsive urges to steal, like with kleptomania, which shares a class with addictive disorders.

But I’m not a psychiatrist like Dr. Dannon, so what do I know?

“They are just like anyone else who is addicted to coffee, exercise, or talking on their cellular phone. As the times change, so do our addictions," he said.

And with the diagnosis, also comes treatment, which includes prescribing serotonin blockers, which are also used to treat, you guessed it, obsessive-compulsive disorder (because anxiety is what drives it).

Oh well, if enough disorders emerge, then over time all of us will be on antidepressants and participating in worldwide sing-alongs, happy as a pharmaceutical rep in a field of script-happy doctors.

So, if you find yourself jonesin’ for some Internet, find a healthier habit to replace it with, like talking to your kids – else they’ll have you on meds before you can say "When I was your age…"

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/shrink-sets-internet-addiction-terror-alert-to-orange-2007-08/feed 0 http://www.webpronews.com/americans-and-email-addiction-2007-07 http://www.webpronews.com/americans-and-email-addiction-2007-07#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:37:47 +0000 Mike Sachoff http://www.webpronews.com/?p=39381 More Americans are using portable devices to keep track of their email around the clock according to AOL's third annual "Email Addiction" survey.
]]> More Americans are using portable devices to keep track of their email around the clock according to AOL’s third annual "Email Addiction" survey.

The average email user checks mail about five times a day, and 59 percent of those with portable devices are using them to check email whenever a new message arrives. Forty-three percent of email users with portable devices keep the device close by even while they are sleeping to listen for incoming mail.

Fifteen percent of Americans say they are "addicted to email" and many plan their vacations with email access in mind. Around four in ten email users say it is "very" or "somewhat" important to think about email accessibility when planning a vacation and 83 percent say they check their email once a day while on vacation.

Fifty-nine percent of people emailing from portable devices are checking email in bed, 53 percent in the bathroom, 37 percent are checking email while driving and 12 percent said they check email in church.

"Email is becoming more and more accessible, and people continue to take advantage of that," said Regina Lewis, AOL Online Consumer Advisor.

"As the survey data shows, portable devices – like email itself – are becoming more prevalent and easier to use. Because you can access email services like AOL from virtually anywhere and on almost any wireless device, it is easier to stay connected to work, home, family and friends through email — and instant messaging as well — than any other form of communication."

The AOL survey was based on interviews done online with 4,025 Americans age 13 and over.

 

]]> http://www.webpronews.com/americans-and-email-addiction-2007-07/feed 1