The average American is a ravenous media junkie, consuming up to nine hours a day of television, web time or cellphone minutes, according to new research which raises fresh questions about how technology is revolutionising society. . .
As information technology marches on, and search engine giant Google even raises the prospect of free wireless Internet access for whole cities, media in all its forms is almost impossible to escape.
"What does this mean for society?" said Professor Bob Papper, co-author of a study at Ball State University in Indiana, which charted mass media use by Americans.
There has been plenty of speculation on the impact on daily life of fast expanding media. One theory for instance has it that as people become more and more connected electronically, they are becoming less and less connected personally.
Some experts question whether as consumers are swamped by information, they lose the ability to decipher fact from rumor, or find it hard to think through what they hear.
Academic research has yet to prove or disprove such theories, said Papper, who is launching a series of companion studies, including one probing why people are spending so much time online, on the cellphone, or watching television, and how their personalities are affected.
Link.
