1997_08 The Daily Collegian August 1997

              News
THE DAILY
COLLEGIAN c
Tuesday, August 26, 1997       3
College students vulnerable to net addiction
By Colleen De Baise
College Press Services
CHICAGO—Diane Kerwin. a
University of Chicago sophomore,
used 10 spend 40 hours a week on
the Internet, surfing or "chatting"
with friends.
But the Net began to interfere
with her normal life, so now, she
says, she's cut back. To 35tiours.
"My boyfriend dumped me be¬
cause I spent too much time online,
but he was a loser anyway/'
Kerwin, 22. said. "It hurt a lot. so I
cut down."
Kerwin admits that she is not
like other college students who dial
up the Net to research a paper.
Gate—
Continued from page 3.
Among those was Mark
Gerolimatos. a 30-year-old Berke¬
ley resident who said Applewhite
was a "horrible speaker." But
Gerolimatos still bought two of the
group's videotapes.
"Everyone thinks this was a trag¬
edy. But they died very happy, and
my guess is we will not be any¬
where near as happy when we die,"
Lucas —
Continued from page T. ~ ■ r** :
media. This unexpectedly tranquil
era we're experiencing is an
unlooked-for opportunity. When
there arc no disasters to focus on,
reporters have the chance to write
real news - stories about the every¬
day events that affect ordinary
people's lives.
Or, for a really radical idea, the
media could start paying attention
to international news, which is usu¬
ally sensational enough to suit any¬
one. To paraphrase Channel 4's slo¬
gan, local news comes first in
check football scores or read a horo¬
scope, Like an increasing number
of computer users, she spends hours
prowling the Internet and compul¬
sively checking her electronic mail.
"It's like an addiction lor me.
like bbdze or drugs for other
people." she said.
In fact, the obsession some col-,
lege students have for the Net can
spark mood swings, tear apart per¬
sonal lives and disrupt studies, simi¬
lar to drug and alcohol abuse, ac¬
cording to psychologists.
In a study of 277 college stu¬
dents, three out of four said their
use of the Internet upset various
activities of daily life. As a group.
Gerolimatos said.
After the video, Humphrey told
reporters he was riot sure what his
next step would be, and did not
know whether Sunday's meeting
would be followed by others. He
also was melancholic about his fail¬
ure to join his fellow cult members
in the suicide and said he was con¬
fused about his life.
"I'm living day to day," he said.
"It's a sobering awakening to be left
behind."
nearly every media venue - but this,
too, gives a narrow and distorted
picture of the world.
Willthe media take this oppor
tunhy? VrVri hevfcto wait and see.
'.';After the celebrity tragedy
deaih-fest oh Aug. 16, the 20th an
niversary of Elvis' death, reporters
might just get desperate for some¬
thing to covec Campaign finance
reform, immigration, Cambodia
and NATO - the possibilities are
endless.
Liz Lucas is a student at the *
University of Michigan
college students-who at many
campuses have free access to the
Net-'are considered to be at high
risk lor Internet abuse, according to
Janet Morahan-Marlin, a lir\.in(,
College psychology professor who
conducted the study. jT    ,
Students were considered
"pathological-addiciive" if tr\cy ad¬
mitted to four or more symptoms
indicating abuse. "Compared to
others, pathological users seojed
significantly higher (on a loneliness
scale), were more likely to go
online to relax, talk to others with
similar interests, meet new people
and for support," she said.
She also found that many Net
addicts report that it's easier to open
up and meet people online.
Edwin Colon, 21, a University
Project
Continued from page 1.
done, glass windows will allow
visitors to watch researchers per¬
forming their work, said Ziegler
"A poster outside would say
what researchers are working on,"
he said.
Wong said the center will pro¬
vide an identity for the school and
added that places like San Francisco
andPortUnd nave science-related
ol Chicago junior, admits that's-
why he enjoys chatting on the Net.
He spends about 40 hours .1 week
online.
"I express my self better online."
he said. "I feel like the constraints
of the keys allows me more free¬
dom."
Also. "I can talk to m> friends
in my underwear, and not.be em¬
barrassed," he added.
But too much time spent on live
Net can hurt attention to studies.
Kimbcrly S. Young, a University of
Pittsburgh psychologist, says some
college students spend so much
time on die Internet that they flunk
out of college.
Such obsessive behavior should
be viewed by the mental health
community as seriously as alcohol
or drug use. sa\s Young, who con¬
ducted a three-year study on Net ad¬
diction
Obsessive Internet users, or "de
pendents.".stay online for hours
each day and often create new per-
sonajities lor themselves in chat
rooms, she said. Over the course of
her study, she identified 3% "de¬
pendents" and found that 42 percent
were unemployed college students
or homemakers
The "dependents" said they en¬
joy fantasy games similar to Dun¬
geons and Dragons, where they can
interact with people Jjkc them¬
selves. They spend an average of
38 hours online each week, com¬
pared to eight hours a week reported
by avid, but not addicted, computer
buildings that sets those cities apart.
But that's not the only reason the
school wants to built the center.
"Fresno serves a big area in the
San JoaqOtn Valley," Ziegler said,
adding that the center will fill a need
in the scientific-research field.
The center will be the site of re¬
search in agriculture, engineering,
science and technology. Other
schools within Fresno State have
expressed interest in becoming
apart of the fund-raising drive to
benefit the center, Ziegler said.
Also, the center is gqing to pro¬
vide a great opportunity for faculty
to perform research and for students
to learn. Ziegler said.
He added, the planetarium is
definitely coming to the university,
but has his doubts about the center.
XThe center) is only a couple of
steps further along than a good
idea," he said. But with a tot of
work, he hopes the money can be
raised to complete the project
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