Internet-Addicted Teens Face Higher Depression Risk

via Harvard Business Review "The Daily Stat"

The risk of becoming depressed is 2.5 times higher for teenagers who are addicted to internet use than for those who aren't, according to a study led by Lawrence T. Lam of the School of Medicine, Sydney, in Australia. Some 6.2% of the participants — Chinese teens aged 13 to 18 — were found to be "pathological" internet users, says a report in Bloomberg Businessweek.

So, anyone here "addicted" to the internet? The article seems to be focused on the effects on teens, so should teens be restricted from the internet like the restrictions on alcohol and tobacco?

A lot of the videos and articles on internet addiction use the same language and buzz words as discussions about other addictions. I am on the internet all the time, but I don't go through withdrawals if I miss my email, etc. for a couple days. I also don't get a "high" from getting on the internet again, like so many mention in their English papers and video assignments.

Here's a video about internet addiction in China. Do they have a more noticed problem because of their population, or is it because they're "not us" over here but they're "over there", so they're safe to talk about?

Future of Screen Technology

Pretty cool tech.

Via The Astonishing Tribe -

Capacitive screens has now become a commodity for touch screen devices. Screen technology is now taking the next leap and the coming years imagination is the only thing stopping us. We will soon have dual screens, malleable screens, screens built into wifi connected mirrors, desks or backside of gadgets clothed with e-ink screens, tactile feedback, color screens with great contrast in sunlight, holographics/stereoscopic screens, color e-ink touch screens, or screens actually knowing where they are in relation to other screens thanks to ultrasonic emitters and microphones.
We want to show some of these things in an "experience video", that shows a normal day in a couple of years when all these technologies are affordable enough to be used everywhere. This video is the result of our experiment with open innovation, read more about our experiment here. Big thanks to all the people from TAT and around the world who helped out and sometimes shared their ideas and sometimes gave us homework on our own ideas.

How we view information is constantly changing.
Even our current technology is modified to change the way we view media. The Syte Shirt is a shirt with a see-through pocket for your iPad.

Then if the iPad isn't your thing, there's the WeTab. Applications have support for native, Java, Linux, Adobe Flash, Adobe AIR® and Android Apps. You can actually use an SD card for extended memory.
The options are never ending!

Real ID requirement in the digital age?

Do you know that you have to show your real ID to purchase mobile phones in China. The government made the regulation last week, Sept. 1, applying to everyone in China, including foreigners on even short visits.

The regulation was "the latest campaign by the government to curb the global scourge of spam, pornographic messages and fraud on cellular phones,"

But many people are concerned about the greater potentials that the government would use the new regulation to monitor citizens and to control the new communication technology.

Such a real ID policy was initiated in South Korea in 2007. The Korean government designed the real-name system on the Internet to prevent cyber crimes such as libel and privacy infringement. According to the Law on Internet Address Management, online users are required to provide their personal information such as real names and resident registration numbers (like SSN in the US) when they try to post comments or upload any content. Since then, there have been hot debates over freedom of expression on cyberspace.

In April 2009, Korean government required Google's Korea unit to comply to the real-name system. However, the Google refused to do so in the a statement titled "Freedom of Expression on the Internet":

Google thinks the freedom of expression is most important value to uphold on the internet. We concluded in the end that it is impossible to provide benefits to internet users while observing this country’s law because the law does not fall in line with Google’s principles.

If you have to reveal your real identity to upload a video on youbute.com or put a comment on nytimes,com, would you like to do so?