And that’s the simple fact about porn. It is a drug. Well, at least it acts like a drug on your brain. AsapSCIENCE‘s newest three-minute video tackles the very real problem of pornography addiction. If you find yourself in a vicious porn-watching cycle where real life never seems to measure up to what you’re imagining in your head, well, this is the reason.

The study, published this week in the journal Addiction, shows that smokers are 33% more likely to miss work than non-smokers and missed an average of 2.7 more days of work per year. Current smokers were also 19% more likely to miss work than ex-smokers.

“Quitting smoking appears to reduce absenteeism and result in substantial cost savings for employers” said Dr. Jo Leonardi-Bee, study co-author and professor of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham.

The new research looked at 29 other studies conducted between 1960 and 2011 in the U.S., Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. These studies covered more than 71,000 employees from both the public and private sectors.

The new study also found that £1.4 billion was lost in the U.K. due to smokers’ work absences. In addition, Leonardi-Bee stated that other costs could include cigarette-related fire damage and lost productivity to smoking breaks.

Researchers emphasized that their findings should encourage smokers to quit, to help reduce lost work and improve health. However, they added that further study would be needed to see what smoking cessation interventions might be cost-effective for employers.

If a new summary from Experian Hitwise is any indication, another thing you’d probably suffer separation pangs from is Facebook. It sounds puffed up, but seriously, 9% of all internet visits in the United States during April 2012 went directly to Facebook.com. That’s nearly 1 visit to Facebook for every 10 times you go anywhere on the internet. More, 1 in every 5 page views happened on Facebook. And this isn’t just traffic from growth, either, because 96% of the visitors to Facebook last month were repeat offenders (or, at least, people who’d visited the site within the previous 30 days).

Facebook welcomed over 1.6 billion visits a week and averaged more than 229 million visits a day in the U.S. year-to-date. For the year, Facebook has received more than 400 billion page views.

America, there is no help. We. Are. Uh-ddicted.

People aren’t just peeping in on Facebook, either, because the average time for a visit is 20 minutes. 56% of Facebook visitors are female, although that’s not really surprising because the tea leaves have been telling us for a while that women are dominating all things internet.

More quick-release facts:

The United States isn’t the only conquest by Facebook. Since this is a global mission, it’s also the top social networking site in Canada, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

In Canada, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Facebook.com is the most visited site. For now, Facebook is merely (!!) the second most-visited site in the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, and Australia, but if the fervor for the website in other countries is any indication, it’s only a matter of time until Facebook completely takes over the internet in those countries, too.

In this new infographic from the minds at OnlineSchools, they chart the different levels of addiction found in Twitter users. For instance, there is research that shows Twitter may be more addicting than the addictions listed above and then some. The other things that Twitter may be more addictive then include drinking, caffeine, sex and sleep.

To put this further into perspective, the infographic cites a 2010 study that challenged college students to go 24 hours without using social networking. While the study was just based around social networking and some of those students may have been exclusively Facebook users, it still stands to reason that Twitter can be counted. After the 24 hours, the students described their experience with horrible words like, “addiction” and “failure.”

At least this addiction is mostly relegated to educated America with the majority of Twitter users coming from those who are still in college or at least have had some college education. Unfortunately, a large portion of Twitter users are still in high school which leads to trending topics that make you wonder if you want to live on this planet anymore.

Check out the full infographic for all this info and more. It’s fascinating to see the amount of things that came along with the Internet that are now considered addictions.

Courtesy of: Online Schools

Here’s the space where I tell you how to effectively stop using those evil cancer sticks. First and foremost you have to be like an alcoholic and admit you’re powerless against these inanimate consumer products. Next, coat your your ass with nicotine embedded patches to pacify your cravings.

Also, purchase plenty of Nicorette gum so you can avoid being pissed-off at everybody who crosses your path throughout the day. Continue these actions for ten days and avoid stress for three years and you’ll be cured. Follow this prescribed regiment to the letter and you will be sufficiently convinced you have no will power.

But, let’s move on the the meat of the story, anti-smoking ads are having an effect and there’s new evidence to support that claims.

On March 14th, the online Journal of the National Cancer Institute published data that suggests that nearly 800,000 new lung cancer cases have been avoided by public efforts to discourage smoking. This data only accounts for data from 1975 to the year 2000. I think this figure is surprisingly low. Yes, 800,000 is a big number, but don’t more people die in traffic accidents, we still drive cars don’t we?

Dr. Suresh Moolgavkar, of the biostatistics and biomathematics program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle comments on the trend:

“Quitting smoking most definitely reduces deaths from lung cancer. However, too many people continue to smoke,”

“The most effective way to reduce the burden of lung cancer is to get smokers to quit and to prevent non-smokers from taking up smoking.”

So if the surgeon general had not published all the reports and all the warnings we would probably have had more like a million new lung cancer cases. That’s not even taking into account how many people who quit just because the habit is so damn expensive.

Eric Feuer, chief of the Statistical Methodology and Applications Branch of the U.S. National Cancer Institute adds to the anti-smoking sentiments:

“We can’t let our guard down and we really need to continue our efforts,”

Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City says that smoking accounts for more disease than just lung cancer:

“Smoking cessation would also reduce rates of heart attack, stroke and the lung disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,”

He claims they find new damage caused to our bodies by smoking all the time. So more than likely the 800,000 lives figure is missing the mark in a number of ways. The number probably finds itself in the millions rather than thousands.

Regardless that’s the news for a 25-year span from 1975 to 2000. I wonder what they’ll have to report about smoking in 2025 when another two and a half decades has passed? Perhaps people won’t be smoking anymore, but I doubt it. I think it’s human nature to seek destructive behavior, and some people just do anything they’re told not to do. We’ll see.

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.

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