Tag: STUDIES

We already knew that hardcore Internet use could make us all feel lonely, depressed and pathetic. According to a new study out of China, though, teenage Web-addicts may be particularly susceptible to a nasty case of the blues. The study, which was authored by researchers Lawrence Lam and Zi-wen Peng, involved 1,041 teenagers who were identified as being free of depression at the beginning of ...

As print journalism continues to die a slow death, consumers are flocking to the Internet to get their news. According to a recent study, though, people are still having a hard time trusting what they read online. A report from the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California finds that more than 75-percent of users rank the Internet as the most important source of ...

The debate over cell phone's relationship to cancer continues to rage. Some scientists steadfastly claim that cell use can cause cancer of the brain, eye, and salivary glands, while others adamantly argue the opposite. As if the public weren't already aware of the proclaimed dangers, an organization known as the International Electromagnetic Field Collaborative (IEFC) has released a new ...

Once a gamer, always a gamer. That's right, you'll be blasting noobs on 'Halo' or banging on those 'Rock Band' drums till the day you die, at least according to a recent report from the Entertainment Merchants Association. The 2009 Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry states, "Older gamers continue to be engaged by video games, rather than dropping out and being replaced by a new ...

Insomnia and the Internet seem to be good bedfellows; just ask anyone browsing the 'tubes at 3 a.m. But researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have decided to combine the restlessness of insomniacs and the accessibility of the Web, creating an online program that gives advice and plays games with people who have trouble sleeping. Based on the assumption that cognitive therapy ...

According to the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), a new study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology claims that ringtones can have a damaging effect for memory retention, especially in the classroom. Apparently, distractions, such as ringtones, can have the most impact on the memory during times when the mind is absorbing new information (during a class, business meeting, or ...

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), computers could cease being the only technology susceptible to viruses. Researchers at Northeastern University suggest that, as mobile networks continue to develop, cell phones could become the next mass-market to be targeted. Marta Gonzalez, one of the study's authors, told the NSF, "We haven't had a problem so far because only phones with ...

Another day, another study -- it seems like every time we turn around, there's another body of research revealing that, even though they know it's dangerous, stupid, and should be illegal, teens still text-message while driving. The latest study paints a slightly rosier picture than the last one we saw (which said that 85-percent of teenage girls and almost 60 percent of boys were guilty of ...

The US is the most wired country in the world, according to a new study of industrialized counties that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. With 80,071,074 people connected to DSL, cable, or fiber (as of December 2008), America has nearly as many high-speed surfers as the next four countries combined (Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and France). But tech ...

Remember when Sarah Palin's e-mail account was accessed by a 20-year-old student who guessed the answer to her Yahoo! security question (where she and husband Todd first met)? Well, the former VP candidate is just one of many whose "forgotten password" questions are way too easy for others to guess, according to a new study published in the Technology Review.. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon ...

According to a new study, 'Sexting' may have less to do with sex than its titillating title implies. Susan Lipkins, a psychologist from Port Washington, NY, found that people who sent sexually explicit messages were more focused on attaining power and control than people who didn't send explicit messages. According to USA Today, Lipkins polled 323 people, of which a surprising 66-percent ...

Despite recent research from Nielsen suggesting that we're moving much of our online activity to social networks like Twitter and Facebook, e-mail still takes up a significant part of our day. We've written about discomgoogolation, a deprivation anxiety resulting from lack of e-mail access, but, until now, we haven't heard too much about how people actually use e-mail in the course of a day, ...

We all know dozens of people who feel it's necessary to use Facebook and Twitter to update the world about every tiny insignificant detail of their lives. As Christopher Muther of the Boston Globe discovered, the constant mindless updates are enough to make you come to a painful realization -- your friends, they're boring. There is a reason that we jest about people updating their status with ...

Air travel just became even more stressful, as a recent government study reveals that the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air-traffic control system faces significant threats from cyber-terrorists. According to the Wall Street Journal, the FAA plans to modernize its control systems over the next 15 years, thanks in part to $20 billion of funding, but the technological adaptations are ...

What is the latest dangerous and corrupting movement plaguing youths around the world? Is it that rock 'n' roll? What about death metal or rap? The Internet? Nope, once again it's video games, or rather, kids' addiction to them. Parents, be warned. This month, GameSpot Australia published an in-depth look at game addiction that attributes unhealthy preoccupations with video games to a natural ...