Internet "Geek" Image Shattered By New Study

Internet "Geek" Image Shattered By New Study

By Bernhard Warner, European Internet Correspondent LONDON (Reuters) - The typical Internet user -- far from being a geek -- shuns television and actively socializes with friends, a study on surfing habits said Wednesday.

The findings of the first World Internet Project report present an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner "geek" who spends hours of his free time on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world.

Instead, the typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the non-user, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers, the study added.

"Use of the Internet is reducing television viewing around the world while having little impact on positive aspects of social life," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, the California university that organized the project.

"Most Internet users generally trust the information they find online," he told Reuters via e-mail.

The findings are derived from surveys of Internet and non-Internet users in 14 countries: the United States, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Chile.

Well then, we've got them fooled haven't we?

Comments

[Cyn]

I wouldn't say I'm more social in the traditional sense--though I have had to good fortune to make a number of Internet friendships. I watch almost no teevee now as well. The Internet is much more compelling and most importantly, interactive!

In terms of being a "geek", I think the term has morphed in it's meaning. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if true geeks were a bit put out that so many of us have been labelled as such, simply due to having a bit of on-line skill.

[Vanessa]

Yeah, I think I watch tv massively less since getting a pc. But I doubt it doesn't make me more of a couch potato.

[Anne]

Never been a geek, never will be one. :p I'm just not smart enough.

[Rose]

Yeah! Though I am the loner, geeky type...