Here's a meaty issue -- a meaty, contemporary issue. Go back fifty years, before video games, before ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) was 'discovered', and such a story couldn't even exist.

But here we are: modern day. Love it or hate it, we inhabit a world where vast and incredible leaps in the realms of technology and science occur on a daily basis. We're now, as a result, one very big international community full of gamers, where the person sitting next to you on the train is more likely to be a fellow gamer than not. And apparently -- and this might not be a shock to some of you -- according to a new report, we're picking up new and freshly-labeled psychoses from our rampant, reckless, just-one-more-hour gaming habits. Apparently.

CNET breaks down the conclusion of the report:
"A new study out of Iowa State University finds that people who play video games for 40-plus hours a week have a harder time focusing on certain tasks than those who play just a few hours a week."

You should probably read the findings of the study yourself and draw your own conclusions, but I do have one thing to add:
Considering the complexity and involvement of video games, maybe gamers just don't find real life quite as interesting by comparison?

If I could choose between going to the office and focusing on a word processor for 8 hours a day, or playing a 32-player video game that involves pixel-perfect hand-eye coordination and one-hundred percent, focused concentration all the time -- well, I think I'd choose the game. Is it any surprise that we gamers find our mind wandering when turned to the menial, humdrum tasks of the real world?

[via CNET]

There are some sites that you know you spend too much time on - not DownloadSquad, of course. And certainly not the Time Wasters tag page.

Other places like Facebook, Twitter, and dental hygenist web sites can turn into real time sinks if you're not paying attention. If you need a little outside assistance in breaking free, get your hands on the NoAddict userscript for Greasemonkey.

Adding domains is simple - just clicking in to Greasemonkey's manage scripts window modify the script's source using your favorite text editor. The code is straightforward: // @include https://website.toadd.com/*.

Yes, with a little self control you can accomplish this without the need for any software at all, but sometimes a little shove in the right direction is necessary.

If you have a device that pulls in email, like a Blackberry or a spankin new iPhone, a new study shows that you are addicted to email. And those rates have doubled since 2004.

As email has become more accessible on devices many consumers are taking advantage of the fact they can check email whenever they want. AOL together with the Opinion Research Corporation who put the study together said that as devices are becoming easier to use, its becoming easier to stay connected, whether at the office, vacationing on the beach, or lying in bed. The study shows that people on average would check their email five times per day, however 59% of those people with portable devices would check the message every time a new one came in.

15% of Americans see themselves as email addicts, with many users actually basing their vacations around whether the locations are email friendly.

How do DLS readers fare in this study. Are you addicted to email? and do you actually base your vacations and trips around whether you get a good signal?


Disclaimer: DownloadSquad is owned by AOL.

A buddy of mine tells me I have a problem. I don't agree. He says that I am addicted to downloading. He thinks I have a big hard drive for all the wrong reasons. I think having a big hard drive is a good thing. It means I can download MORE! I don't have a problem, downloading this much is a normal and healthy thing...isn't it? For some reason, I get weird looks all the time. I even changed my hairstyle several times, but I guess that isn't the reason I feel like a digital freak of nature when people look at me with disgust. Is it the persistence of black apparel and snarky attitude in my wardrobe? There is no way I'm changing that. Maybe I do have a problem. Isn't being an obsessive downloader normal? I guess I download more than others I know. They don't download so much, but I don't know why. I just thought they were naïve. People tell me that I babble incoherently about "del.icio.us" software that I digg, but so what? Perhaps the fact that I seem more in tune with software than with people has something to do with it. I guess people can spot a chronic downloader when they see one. I thought I had it so well hidden. Apparently not. Maybe I just have "a quality" that gives it away. I must admit that downloading makes me feel good, no...really good. I suppose it is the exhilaration of finding a new utility, or a new productivity app that makes me talk at a sustained high frequency and get all excited. I suppose I could have a problem, but I don't think it is so wrong, I mean, is everyone else content to use boring applications and let things be the way they are? What kind of a life is that? I don't think I would be true to myself if I didn't download things that add functionality...oh, sweet functionality. I crave functionality, I need to have it, and if I don't get it, I will... Okay, you got me, I have a problem. What's that? I forgot to say what? Oh, right. Hi, my name is Ryan, and I am a chronic downloader. (This is the part where you say "Hi, Ryan." all monotone like.)