In previous posts I already expressed my doubt about this phenomenon: Internet Addiction. The biggest problem with studies defining a new syndrome is usually that they don’t use validated diagnostic tools but mostly some severity scale. Internet Addiction is not clearly defined in the recent scientific publications and research. Some researchers have adapted substance use disorder, while others reference pathological gambling, resulting in an inconsistent definition of Internet addiction. Being as it is, therapeutic research was done with such a creaky concept as Internet Addiction is. A recent systematic review according to the CONSORT statement has recently been published. In this review .....read more »

Personal usage of of the web during work (PWU) is still a matter of debate. Should it be allowed or is it another form of procrastination, disadvantageous to the employers. Should employers limit PWU through monitoring and Internet usage policies? PWU can vary between reading news to watching pornography, is this all bad? Employees can use the Internet in a variety of ways not always harming their employees. It could enhance the work of some employees. There are many kinds of PWU behaviors. In short a lot of questions starting to be answered with some recent research. The first question is .....read more »

Thanks to Clinical cases and Images an astonishing video about how smart phone use delivers an enormous amount of data for scientists. Researchers are harvesting a wealth of intimate detail from cellphone data, uncovering the hidden patterns of social lives, travels, risk of disease - even political views. Related posts: Personality Traits and Political Attitude Metformin reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in Diabetes Mellitus 2 Final Verdict: Internet Enhances our Social Lives ..read more »

Social Networking Sites (SNS) grow in the number of users and have become a mass phenomenon. Time for some classification of these SNS users for both academic and practical purposes. previous research has been focused on the study of user behavior in specific SNSs using mainly psychological (entertainment, socializing, etc.) or sociodemographic variables. In the present study, we propose a classification of users for all SNSs in which they actively participate, using a wide spectrum of behavioral and sociodemographical variables. Introvert users: they are the smallest group of SNS users, mainly using SNSs for direct messaging. Mostly men older than 45 years .....read more »

Nice video from New Scientist about the pro's and cons of using facebook After a failed relationship that left him heartbroken, visual effects artist Maxime Luère was inspired to create this time-lapse movie. The film charts a life on Facebook: from setting up the account, to falling in love, being unfaithful, breaking up and finally settling down. Related posts: Time Lapse Photography Time-Lapse Video of the Milky Way over Hawaii Beauty in Time Lapse Photography ..read more »

Learned a new word today: sexting. You probably know what it means but I didn't have a clue. Sexting is: sending and receiving sexually suggestive images, videos, or texts on cell phones. Smartphones, computers and other toys with internet access also creep into our relationships. For example visiting dating sites, long distance interactions with webcam, even relationship termination can be done online: idump4u.com. A recent study looked at attachment styles and the use of sexting. Attachment theory has proposed that the attachment one forms in infancy to a caregiver may form a basis for the attachment one forms later with .....read more »

The Millenial generation are those in college from 2000 to late 2010. It's the same period in which social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Hyves in The Netherlands saw a massive increase in users. To some, the millennial generation are more narcissistic than earlier generations. From wikipedia, the millennial generation is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies. Might their be some connection between increased narcissism in this generation and the increase of use of social networking sites? We're talking about subclinical narcissists. They hold an inflated view of themselves, believe they .....read more »

The Axis of Awesome: How to Write a Love Song - watch more funny videos Just before Valentine's day, how to write a cliche love song....Related posts: Who do you write like? The Brain in Love A Nerdy Rap Song ..read more »

Social media the mass audience of the future. People no longer aggregate online on age, gender and income instead they aggregate on what they like and love, they aggregate on their interests. What does that mean for our future and our culture, just watch this interesting talk. Media and advertising companies still use the same old demographics to understand audiences, but they're becoming increasingly harder to track online, says media researcher Johanna Blakley. As social media outgrows traditional media, and women users outnumber men, Blakley explains what changes are in store for the future of media. Related posts: Social Media in Health .....read more »

Does using online social networking compensate for certain character traits? It's suggested that participating in online social networks such as Facebook or twitter is mostly done by those who struggle to make social connections in face to face contacts. The use of Facebook to enhance their social relationships online. This is called the social compensation hypothesis in contrast to the rich get richer hypothesis. Those who already are very socially adaptive and use the benefits of Internet for more social interaction. In two studies an attempt was made to answer this question. First they looked at personality and a range of .....read more »