Internet 'Geek' Image Shattered by New Study

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&e=1&u=/nm/20040114/wr_nm/tech_internet_world_dc' target='_blank'>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ternet_world_dc</a><br /><br /></div>Here's an interesting counterpoint to the article Jason linked to earlier this week ("<a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23056">Online Addicts Abandon Real World</a>"):<br /><br />"The typical Internet user -- far from being a geek -- shuns television and actively socializes with friends, a study on surfing habits said Wednesday. The findings of the first World Internet Project report present an image of the average Netizen that contrasts with the stereotype of the loner "geek" who spends hours of his free time on the Internet and rarely engages with the real world."<br /><br />I'm curious to hear about our readers. The perception I get is most of you are outgoing, but am I correct? ;) I consider myself relatively socially active, although I've gotten bogged down with work as of late.

[sixsixty]

wow. that is pretty accurate for me. i'm outgoing, i socialize often, and i haven't watched tv in over 5 years. (i used to be a HUGE tv freak when i was a younger)

[ctmagnus]

Or, the /. version (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/14/2147242). But I agree with the fact that people who use the Internet a fair bit but not extremely heavily also take time for other "real-world" stuff. I know that I've taken up activities since I started using the Internet that I wouldn't even have considered before. And I read a lot more also, especially in bed. Quite often I'll go to bed and by the time the light (incandescent or LCD ;) ) is off it's two hours later.

[maximus]

Well, I am off to work at 7 in the morning, and got back to apartment after 8pm. That leaves a lot of time for socializing, right ? =)

But of course my real life is between 8pm to midnight. Games, talking on the phone with future spouse, processing the photos I took during the day, etc. etc. ... Saturdays and sundays are usually for outdoorsy activities ..

[jnunn]

i internet
i do not own a TV
i have never owned a TV
i train in martial arts
i lift weights 3 days on, 1 day off
i sail nearly weekly regattas
i drive a sports car
i'm writing a novel
i'm single but attached, still get carded at clubs
i live one mile from the ocean, left coast south of LA
geek? sure, i own an iPAQ

[Lord_Zelo]

Born and Raised being babysat by the the TV... Now, I can't stand it. I find the programming of late to be, well, just stupid. TV is becoming an R rated movie in my opinion.(I don't want to start a flame with this.. so moving on)...

Don't get me wrong, I'm only 19. I was known in Highschool as a geek. I went around and fixed teachers computers and for it, I could use a cell phone in school whenever and also the school bought my first PDA, an 8MB Handspring Visor Monochrome, I loved that thing, haha. I also had the option to wander the halls and leave class as I pleased. But, don't let that fool you, I was also Junior Prom King my junior year in school. I was lead singer in a band called "This Side Up" and frequently covered and played the songs that our highschool dances were named after. Now-a-days I work for an ISP doing web design and programming, it's a 10am-6pm kind of job. I'm also an entrepreneur. I started a concrete acid-staining business that does well to make a little extra money here and there. I have a serious girlfriend of 1 year on the 20th of Jan. I am buying my own house, drive an RX-7, and own a Desktop Computer and a few PDA's and have had a cell phone since I was about 14. I spend my weekends hiking, doing photography, going out to eat and watch movies, and going to the sand dunes and rock crawling(I have an '87 Suzuki Samurai with a few extra's I like to take out and play with). One more thing... I've actually had people get really suprised at times when I tell them what I do for a living. They end up telling me that I don't look like a computer geek in the least bit.

That's my 2 cents.

LZ

[karen]

I'm definitely a woman with a geek attitude...but I don't think like the stereotypical geek...

I drive a nifty 300 pony sports car, I'd like to think that I have a decent fashion sense, I love to see technology actually make lives better rather than think that my role is to make people think technology is better,... I work in an exciting industry and I make lots of money doing it.

Proud to be a geek, but not a loser...

[maximus]

Karen,

The link on your signature is not properly set =), it currently refers to www.pocketpcthoughts.com/wizards/www.linkedin.com.

300 bhp car ? modified or stock ?

[mulekiller]

I guess I'm a geek if I like the newest gadgets out there, but I'm a bouncer at 2 bars, have a girlfriend, socializes a great deal the 3 days I don't work at the bars, and I just got my CS degree from college. I don't watch nearly as much TV as I did 3-4 years ago, not nearly. Except maybe some ONDemand movies.

[jgrnt1]

40, married, two young boys, black belt, only stuff we watch on tv is educational programming, luxury car and a five bedroom house on a lake, with a room devoted to a home gym (workout 5 days a week). Oh, yeah, and the geeky stuff:

- iPAQ 2215 with my own work-related themes, Journal Bar, Battery Pack, Quick Agenda and Quick Tasks, PI 4.6.1, withMP3, PocketTV Enterprise, Resco File Explorer, Ambicom CF, three CF and one SD memory cards, etc., etc. Also have a T-Mobile Hot Spots account.

- Four networked PC's at home (wireless-g). One is a laptop from work. I built the other three - one with 19" LCD, one 17" CRT for the kids, a 19" CRT and additional keyboard for the laptop. The last one is a Shuttle box devoted to being a media server, attached to my home theater and viewed on the HDTV, with Gyration Ultra Mouse and keyboard (my wife refuses to use it). My PC (with the LCD) also has a WinTV card, with a Dish Network receiver attached.

- enough spare parts to build a couple more PC's, though some of the parts are very old. Maybe one day I will get rid of my 5.25" drives and my ISA cards. I recently got rid of my 5.25" floppies (a few hundred of them).

And I'm not a professional geek -- it's just a hobby. I'm in the restaurant business.

[Jonathon Watkins]

For me the Net replaces TV. I've recently moved to a new town, so the social side is picking up, other than that the study seems right on.

[Janak Parekh]

For me the Net replaces TV.
Seems like it's doing so for a majority of people here. :) Me, too: apart from Law & Order, ESPN, and the occasional other program, I don't watch TV nearly as much as I used to either.

--janak

[Steven Cedrone]

Seems like it's doing so for a majority of people here. :) Me, too: apart from Law & Order, ESPN, and the occasional other program, I don't watch TV nearly as much as I used to either.

I love the Discovery Channel, History Channel and even SciFi (Wish they didn't have so many commercials)...

Wish I could get TechTV and the Nasa Channel though...

Steve

[maximus]

For me the Net replaces TV.

Perhaps this is one of the reason why sony decided to put a memory stick reader into their TVs. So TV can come back with a vengeance.

[Ipaqman]

I am married, have two kids, go to the gym 2-3xs a week and love gadgets for one reason and one reason only....they allow me the freedom to enjoy my life.

I know more people that are tied to the tube, i.e they have to run home or stay up late to watch a particular show, etc. Wouldn't thier life be much simpler if they only learned how to program a VCR or had a DVR for that matter?

Am I a geek? Well maybe, it seems that that epithet is given to those who turn their TV off long enough, to figure out how technology can simplify their lives.

[karen]

Karen,

The link on your signature is not properly set =), it currently refers to www.pocketpcthoughts.com/wizards/www.linkedin.com.

300 bhp car ? modified or stock ?

Thanks, Jason let me know and I fixed it.

It's a stock 300 hp - a Mits 3000VR4. Very fun to drive - all wheel turn and drive.

Of course, it's build on a sedan chassis, so it doesn't really count as a sports car...but it is still fun to drive.

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I spend more time watching DVDs on my TV than actually watching regular TV programming.

If I do watch TV, it's usually sports oriented. The net eats up all my other free time for sure.

It's funny when I hear parents complain that their kids spend too much time playing games or surfing the net. My rebuttle is always, "at least they're doing something interactive which is not the case with most kids 10-20 years ago who just sat in front of a TV set".

[witweew]

yea, for workout music, you basically need hard-hitting euro-dance music.... nothing else does the job

really. Search around on iTunes for "euro club hits" or check this link:

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZSearch.woa/wa/advancedSearchResults?albumTerm=Euro+Club+Hits+Vol

[NoYouAre]

Personally I just avoid any kind of instant messengers, just to be sure it doesn't become a substitute for something like a quick call. For work I already spend a lot of time behind the computer, so the time I do have I like to spend on things that keep me less "isolated."

Perhaps a bit paranoid and more expensive, but I'm happy with the way things are so I'd like to keep it that way. :)