I recently read a startling statistic about internet addiction and faced the fact that I, too, am hooked on the internet. Typically, I spend about 3 hours each night (M-Th) online, usually from 9p-12a, in addition to checking in on my blogs and email from my phone or work computer a few times during the day.
In my own defense, we don’t have television here at the Amish Beach House (and haven’t for 9 years), so I get my news and entertainment online. But still–3 hours 4 days a week?! I’m averaging 13 hours a week online (with weekends), writing blog posts, commenting, writing reviews, watching the news, and surfing in general. Total up all those hours and it adds up to roughly 4 weeks–ONE MONTH–of usage per year. *sigh*
Before Christmas (when Santa brought me an iPhone), I could only check in when I was near a computer. Now I’m online while waiting at the Jiffy Lube or the grocery store. I send emails from wherever I happen to be.
I don’t log on as often during the weekend (except right now when I’m trying to avoid organizing the basement and garage) because my husband and I take day trips or have local adventures. My weekend usage might be about 2 hours total. I know that this is true for other bloggers too because my readership decreases on the weekends.
The thought of a power or internet provider failure strikes fear into my heart. I’m going camping on a school trip in two weeks and know for a fact that there isn’t a cell-tower for many, many miles and I will be cut off from everything. Will I survive? It remains to be seen.
I can’t believe that I’m alone with my heavy internet usage. On average, how much time to you spend online each week?
Book, Line, and Sinker 
I don’t want to think about how much time I spend on the internet each week, so I’ll simply say too much!
I’m right up there with you, and again, it’s because I don’t have TV.
I love blogs, I love facebook, and I’ve recently become addicted to podcasts, and I spend far too much time drooling over knitting patterns.
I figure there’s worse stuff to be addicted to.
just one more reason i haven’t joined the ‘twitter’ bandwagon. i have enough vices…don’t need another!
Too much! I am scared to total it all up. I do know it has been cutting into my knitting time. I need to shorten it and get busy on my Christmas gifts soon or I will never get any done.
ha. i know the feeling–i’m reading far slower than ever–because i’m blogging too much about books. a catch 22, perhaps?
Wow. I’m not sure I want to even think about this…I’m pretty much online from 8-12 and then 1-5 so that’s 8 hours a day Monday-Friday. Weekends, it’s less, maybe a few hours a day. Sounds like I have a problem…
http://positivelypresent.typepad.com
I also don’t have a tv, so the internet is our main source of amusement (well, that and Netflix… which we still have to update via the internet… also we watch tv shows online…). I don’t even know how to quantify the time I spend online, as even when I’m not surfing the web, I’m always connected and am always receiving email updates. I tend to spend less time on my computer in the evenings, using the hours of 8 – 5 as my prime surfing time (when I should be doing research, no doubt). It’s a problem though, that’s for sure…
Well, if your 3-4 hours a day = addiction, then I am hopeless! I am on the internet almost constantly! Now, in my defense, I use the internet to find lesson plans, to keep in touch with students and parents, etc. But in reality it is the biggest distraction in my life. However, I am willing to live with that distraction for a while 🙂
Funny you should mention a power cut – we had one for an hour this evening and I started to panic. I was more worried about updating my blog than I was about the freezer defrosting!
I don’t even keep track. I know it’s a lot — I read e-mail over breakfast, check in multiple times during the day, and spend at least an hour online each evening.
The funny thing is, I don’t really miss the Internet when I don’t have access to it. I do miss being able to Google something sometimes, but, generally, if I have a book to keep me company, I’m good. I do worry about my blog when there’s a power failure, especially if I don’t have content scheduled to go up already. 90% of my posts are scheduled now and I’m really thankful for that since thunderstorm season is right around the corner.
I probably spend about 1 – 2 hours a day on the internet but we do have tv (and I tend to watch a lot of it!!). I try to be conscious of the time I spend on the net – I will have an agenda on what I actually want to look up, do etc… so that I don’t just end up browsing without purpose – doesn’t always work though!!
Too much time! With my job, I am on the internet all day, every day, working of course! 🙂 I do sneak and look at my blog maybe once an hour. In the evenings, I usually read. On the weekend, I am on maybe 6 hours total…3 on Sat., 3 on Sunday. When I am on the computer, I lose all sense of time….
I have no idea, but I’m the computer all day for work and some of that time is spent on email, blogging, and so on.
I have NO Idea and I really don’t want to know, either! 😉 I’ll tell you something else … I gotta stop reading comments and checking out commentors blogs which I then have to add to my RSS feed so that I can add books to my “To Read” list that already fills a small notebook! Of course, I won’t though.
too much.
Another one here who is too scared to add it up. As a freelance writer, I try to treat on line time like work. I work between 9 and 3 (with breaks for lunch, household chores, hanging out at the watercooler (Twitter) etc) and then once the kids are home from school I try to stay offline as much as possible. That way my evenings are free for reading and watching TV.
Let’s face it, we’re all a bunch of junkies!
I blame my own addiction on my husband. Before him, I never owned a computer. He bought me an iMac and an iPhone. Now I can’t imagine life without them (or him!)
I am SO taking the 5th on this one. Suffice it to say, I spend a lot of time online. But I love the internet and don’t feel guilty about it whatsoever.
Ummmmm…I don’t know if I want to know that actually. I know I mostly “blog” at night …. between 8 and 11 most days of the week. I usually use the weekends for catching up on blogs but I don’t post. I also sometimes try to slip some stuff in during the day if I’m lucky but that usually doesn’t happen!
I have a large amount of downtime between classes a couple of days a week, so quite a bit.
wait – you’re going camping??
nat says: yes…can i borrow your miner’s light?
Love your article, but I’d be too embarassed to admit mine. I think it’s more than you!
I’m hesitant to actually calculate this, because I know it’s going to be scary!
During week? Monday through Friday? I’m on the Internet all day as an editor for a newspaper. So eight hours, five days a week . . . 4o hours.
At night? After dinner, exercising, watching TV, etc., I’d say probably one hour — usually on my laptop. In fact, I’m typically on the Internet while watching TV and reading… just in case I need to Google something. I like having immediate answers to any of my questions! So five hours there, Monday through Friday.
And on the weekend? Like you, I spend considerably less time online Saturday and Sunday. I usually don’t blog — or set up blogs to post while I’m off gallivanting or what have you. So maybe two hours total.
All together?
47 hours. A week.
Ouch.