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Society of Hermits
May 15, 2000 -- Are Americans becoming a society of hermits? According to a study released in February by the Stanford Institute for Quantitative Study of Society (SIQSS), as Internet usage grows, Americans spend less time with family and friends, shopping in stores or watching television, and more time working for their employers at home -- without cutting back their hours in the office.
The Society surveyed 4,113 adults in 2,689 households and found that:
* E-mail is the most common Internet activity, with 90 percent of all Internet users claiming to be e-mailers.
* Virtually all users said they use the Internet as a search utility for products, travel, hobbies and general information.
* Over a third reported using the Web to engage in entertainment, such as computer games.
* While a quarter claimed to have used chat rooms, this activity substantially decreases after age 25.
* Only a small fraction of Internet users engage in purchasing, stock trading, online auctions and e-banking.
The study found the more time people spend using the Internet...
...the more they lose contact with their social environment.
...the more they turn their back on the traditional media (television, newspapers...).
...the more time they spend working at home -- and at the office.
...the less time they spend shopping in stores and commuting in traffic.
"The Internet could be the ultimate isolating technology that further reduces our participation in communities even more than television did," said Norman Nie, director of SIQSS and principal investigator of the study.
So pick up the phone and call your spouse, your mom, dad, sister, brother... And while your at it, invite the mayor of your city to lunch.
P.S.
Honey, if you're reading this, I'll be working late again, so don't forget to pick up the Amazon.com package from off of the front porch. 
Questions or comments? feedback@i-genuity.com
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 About The Author
Mary A. Sicard is president of i-Genuity, the Click-Here Strategy and Services firm in Augusta, Georgia.
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