How Much Time Do You Spend Online?

[KissingSunlight]

I read something recently that made me feel better about joining social media. I still have reasonable fears about it. Mainly, having less privacy. Seriously, social media is like having your personal information posted on every street corner in the world.

Actually, my newest concern is the amount of time I have to be online to do it right. I don't want to be one of those smart phone zombies stumbling around and running to things. If regular zombies moan the word "Brains!" What do smart phone zombies moan?

I feel it's a luxury that I can spend an hour online. So, how much time do you spend online? Do you feel that you are online too much or not enough?

 

[tippy2k2]

Define "Spend online".

I spend 8-10 hours at work using the internet to do my job (and go look at sports....shhhhhhh)

When I get home, I live in a studio apartment so my computer is always on next to me while I do stuff. Most of the time I'm not concentrating online (usually a hour or so of actually doing internet stuff like play on The Escapist or make a stupid joke on Facebook or look at cat pictures because it's the internet, of course I look at cat pictures). Do you also include me being on Netflix on my 360? How about playing Madden?

So if you want to go literal, just about every waking second I am online in some way, shape, or form.

 

[Barbas]

I could live without it because I keep some good books and papers handy, but I do spend a loooooooooooooooot of my time browsing the internet. There's just so much to do and so much to see here. You wanna know the history of Japan? There's a site for that. Whoops, don't click on that thing, though! - Boom! Porn.

What you get out of it really comes down to how you use it. I use it for work, I use it for play, I surf lots of sites and I'm here the whole day!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Between playing games, messaging friends, watching netflix, anime, youtube and just general browsing I'd say that I spend most of my time online. I mean, the only times I'm not online are when I'm at the gym, walking my dog, hanging out with friends, or working, and I still have my smartphone on me almost all the time so I could be online at any moment if I need/want to.

 

[HankyPanky]

I spend a lot of time on the net. I work with computers, so I spend 9-5 staring at a screen with a browser in hand. When I get home I either head over to Youtube, because cable does not appeal to me anymore and Netflix gets stale after overuse, or head over to one of the communities I belong to. I've also been spending way too much time keeping up with news and ops of GamerGate via smartphone whenever I get the chance. I've largely quit social media, though, and that has really made the internet funner and made real-life interactions much better since I am not aware of the personal details the person splatters on his Facebook. To be frank, there's really nothing much to do that interests me and wouldn't cost a leg.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

The answer is obvious for me: way too fucking much. I could be studying, learning to play the piano, jogging, painting my wargaming miniatures (the unpainted ones number in the hundreds), cooking instead of buying ready meals... it's all because it's so much easier than any of those just browse these forums, youtube, channel awesome and facebook over and over again even though I know there's nothing new there, while occasionally playing the ultimate time waster: bubble shooter.

 

[Guffe]

Quite a lot, I mean usually when at home, even if I am gaming, my laptop is on, which is "tuned in" on Facebook, Youtube and TheEscapist. I'm not doing anything there (listening to music sometimes via Youtube, depends on the game), but I am constantly online... just in case someone contacts me via one of these mediums.

Then again during the summer I can be several days at my grandparents summercottage without internet and sometimes even several days without a phone... So I guess in a normal day I am a lot online, then especially if I do some gaming which is online (not often). But I don't need it, in my personal life.

Then again almost all work is done online or needs some kind of internet in todays world. So there's also that part.

 

[FalloutJack]

I don't keep track of that. Does anyone, really? And if so, why?

 

[The Wykydtron]

Most of the day when it's a day off, well I would be if my internet would stop being shit and hold a consistent connection for 5 minutes when it hits midday. Then all evening when it's a college day.

I don't do social media, never have done. Facebook was starting to take off when I was in school and I was never close to enough people to bother making an account to friend anyone and the friends I do have never made an account either.

No I just flick between League and Smite and Hearthstone, a competition to see which one can make me rage the hardest.

"Oh look, my team is flaming and and our last pick autolocked a mid in a ranked game even though we had one already so we end up with a support LeBlanc. That guy is also feeding the Katarina, by the way."

"Oh look, people who are flaming and are utterly incompetent at the game. THANATOS HOW DID YOU MISS THAT ULT, IT'S FUCKING EASY MODE!"

"Oh look, the fiftieth aggro deck in a row, this meta is fucking fun. Now every class has its own variation on aggro rush!"

Like, Smite especially something i've noticed is that people are just... bad. I know i'm not good at the game, I miss my shit sometimes yeah and i'm bad at playing Hunter and I don't rotate as support unless I play Athena but someone or a group of people in every other game just do not understand the basics of the game even at level 30. Respect the minion wave at early levels, stop initiating a 5v5 with the assassin you'll just deliver yourself to them for free unless you're playing Loki, hug tower if you're losing lane and for the love of god stop trying to fight them.

People on League seem to understand at least that much. Except respecting the wave, I play Yasuo mid (yes, i'm that guy) and the enemy mage is like "Oh I have range over him, i'll harass with autoattacks!" *aggros 5 minions, minions win the trade for me by miles*

If i'm not playing games, i'll be watching some shit on Youtube. I'll show you what I mean.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

More than I need to be and sometimes so much so that its utterly unproductive... I need to do some less time on internets and more time on my work or non-internet hobbies. But games are a big part of my life and today's gaming is very much internet driven in some aspect. Hoping one day I can turn gaming into a job though somehow.

 

[Aetera]

I spend far too much time online. Between World of Warcraft and just browsing the internet, I'm pretty much always online unless I'm at the wellness and recovery center that I go to. They have computers there for us to use, but I go there specifically to get away from technology for a while and socialize.

 

[KissingSunlight]

Define "Spend online".

I spend 8-10 hours at work using the internet to do my job (and go look at sports....shhhhhhh)

When I get home, I live in a studio apartment so my computer is always on next to me while I do stuff. Most of the time I'm not concentrating online (usually a hour or so of actually doing internet stuff like play on The Escapist or make a stupid joke on Facebook or look at cat pictures because it's the internet, of course I look at cat pictures). Do you also include me being on Netflix on my 360? How about playing Madden?

So if you want to go literal, just about every waking second I am online in some way, shape, or form.

I'm happy with people using their own definitions of "spend online". How I define it is browsing, searching, clicking links, posting, and uploading. I would make exceptions for streaming videos and playing games. That's focusing on one thing for an extended amount of time. Youtube can be both. You can browse and search for 5 to 10 minute videos, or you can watch an hour and a half concert or lecture.

If i'm not playing games, i'll be watching some shit on Youtube. I'll show you what I mean.

What the heck was that?!? It was only a minute and a half. I was only able to watch it for a minute. I don't think I can unsee what that guy did to the bottom guy holding the wheels.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

Almost my entire day is spent online unless I have obligations (class or doctor visits) . So basically any free day will be spent being as non-productive as possible either watching stuff on Youtube, looking at these forums, or playing whatever the game of the week is.

 

[FPLOON]

Between 7AM and 11PM, except when it comes to porn which bumps up the time to about 1AM or 2AM the next day... Then again, I never get that feeling that I'm online for too long or too short, so there's that...

...So, this is what true online nostalgia feels like...

 

[Elfgore]

A lot. Actually more than I should. At work, I'm watching YouTube videos or browsing here. At home I'm on the Internet always, either in the form of streaming, browsing, or playing. The only hobby I have that doesn't require the Internet is reading... But I order all of my novels online so... Maybe it doesn't count? But anyway, I'm on the Internet nearly the entire time I'm awake.

 

[Drakmorg]

Every single waking moment I can get away with I spend online. I've got no friends in meat space, nor am I likely to meet anyone with similar hobbies as me anywhere near where I live, especially with my social anxiety making initiating conversations nigh-impossible, so it's pretty much the only way I can have a social life

 

[Twintix]

Too much. Is that an adequate answer?

Mostly for browsing, but it's also useful for work and information gethering.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Far too much. I work on a computer. I game on a computer (mostly). I'm mainlining interwebs in some capacity for most of my waking hours. That's kind of messed up.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Probably too much and I've slowed down. I mean, I'm here daily and my posting ebbs and flows...

 

[Olas]

It's not about how much time you spend online, it's about what you do online, or offline. I would say I probably spend the majority of my day online, but a lot of that is either at work where I use a computer, or taking online classes.

Also, smartphone zombies? Just because someone's attention isn't focused on their immediate physical surroundings, that doesn't mean they aren't using their brain. Perhaps the person is using their smartphone to discuss possible solutions to conflicts in the Middle-East. Who are you to judge someone, if you don't even know what they're doing?