CAN SURFING THE WEB BE A BAD HABIT?

Internet has become an integral part of our life during the last several years. With networks of millions of computers and enormous amount of resources available on the Internet, Internet has become a pivotal player in our daily life. These days, useful information can be disseminated around the world in a matter of a few seconds. As a result, using the Internet for different activities has become the norm rather than the exception. Naturally, availability of different services on the Internet has contributed to an increase in the number of users as well as to the time spent on the Internet. The latest world wide data put the number of Internet users over 1.7 billion. This unprecedented number of Internet users has created a great opportunity for some and a great disappointment for others. On one hand, using the Internet has contributed to increase in productivity. On the other hand, the huge amount of time some individuals spent on the Internet can result on missing out on many other activities in the work place as well as at home. This new medium of communication is competing and replacing the so called traditional types of activities such as listening to music, playing video games, and even different sport activities. This change is affecting the younger generation on the massive scale. In this study, we examine the Internet behavior of college business students in a large private university in the US. A survey is utilized in order to come up with tangible measures regarding the effect of the Internet on daily activities including the academic, social, and cultural life of this young age group.