Jonesin’ for Their Net Fix

Posted on Apr 25, 2010

facebook.com

Students in the study followed a request that they not access sites like Facebook, where many maintain important social connections.

Researchers at the University of Maryland have studied the consequences of 200 American college students unhooking from all media—cell phones, social media, Internet—for 24 hours, finding that many suffered symptoms of withdrawal similar to those in drug and alcohol addictions.

Some study participants equated being digitally disconnected to being all alone in the world. —JCL

Reuters:

American college students are hooked on cellphones, social media and the Internet and showing symptoms similar to drug and alcohol addictions, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Maryland who asked 200 students to give up all media for one full day found that after 24 hours many showed signs of withdrawal, craving and anxiety along with an inability to function well without their media and social links.

Susan Moeller, the study’s project director and a journalism professor at the university, said many students wrote about how they hated losing their media connections, which some equated to going without friends and family.

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