The exponential increase of internet usage worldwide is no news, but it may be surprising to know that, in countries like the UK, the internet is now catching up to the TV, as favourite pasttime in our spare time. In practical terms this means that we're coming back from work, where we've most likely spent hours staring at a computer screen, hungry for more ...
Findings on British stats from contentagenda.com:
While more than six in 10 households claim they could not live without their computer, nearly half now spend more
than three hours a day on the internet and a similar period watching television. The study of 2,500 households by
telecom giant Orange found that it is now as common to come in from work and log on to a website as it is to flop down
in front of the TV.
Paradoxically, in places and communities where the broadband revolution has been slow to occur, like rural America and outback Australia, some citizens have decided to take action and wire-up the town themselves... is this how addicted we've become to the WWW?
Tired of waiting, the town of Sullivan plans to start its own high-speed Internet network this summer, using a
combination of fiber-optic cable, wireless transmitters mounted on water towers, and Internet signals sent over power
lines... The gap in broadband Internet usage between rural America and the rest of the country remains wide. A survey
last year found that 29 percent of rural Americans had broadband at home compared with 48 percent of urban and
suburban residents (CSB news)
Linda Stones, former Microsoft and Apple startegist, explains the phenomenon: '[We are]... motivated by a desire to be a live nod on the network ... to be busy, to be connected is to be alive, to be recognized and to matter.' (from a study by The Future Laboratory)
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