[crawlingparanoia]

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Following are 10 questions. If you have 5 minutes, please help me out by responding with your answers. Acceptable choices are listed. I'm hoping to get at least 20 responses, so the more that answer the merrier.

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

Sex
Male
Female

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
0-30 min
31-60 min
1-2 hours
2-4 hours
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes
no

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
word processing
programming/db
media/photos/video/music
gaming
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved
worsened
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved
worsened
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes
no

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes
no

Do you use a computer at work?
yes
no
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

[Salty]

Age
20-29

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
2-4 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
media/photos/video/music
(Music and web browsing reading etc are pretty well tied, I'm constantly listening to music, actually really it could all fall under entertainment)

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved
(They used to say they knew I was still alive cause they could hear the keyboard )

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[SuvsareRetarded]

How do your answers compare when you think of jesus in comparison to computers, salty?

[Salty]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

How do your answers compare when you think of jesus in comparison to computers, salty?

Jesus never asked me to live a comfortable life . That said He's also gifted me in regards to them, so I'd be cutting off an aspect of my gifting if I ditched them.
That said, when I did have my pastoral calling I threw it back in His face as a reason why He had to be wrong, to which He replied "I just wanted you to have something that would make you happy." So quite frankly if God wanted me to have something that would make me feel good about myself, and that I could use in His service then I'm fine with that.
That said if God choses to let my PowerBook get busted by an inconsiderate teenager accidentally or something, I'll live. Quite frankly Jesus is a whole lot more important than my PowerBook. Though it would suck to loose all my art, and poetry and all that.

[SuvsareRetarded]

It would also suck to use 'loose' instead of 'lose' and capitalize "his" when referring to god. jesus christ you need to get laid.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

It would also suck to use 'loose' instead of 'lose' and capitalize "his" when referring to god. jesus christ you need to get laid.

No He doesn't, He's seated at the right hand of God, I think that's a whole lot better than sex. I mean, also you have to keep in mind that His bride is billions of people...

[SuvsareRetarded]

Originally Posted by Salty

think that's a whole lot better than sex.

How the **** would you know? And quit capitalizing "him", it isn't proper English. It makes you look like a nutcase.

[Salty]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

How the **** would you know? And quit capitalizing "him", it isn't proper English. It makes you look like a nutcase.

It's very common practice to refer to God as Him. It's the reason we capitalize God, it's not His name, it's what He is. It's a sign of respect and reverence. I mean what better way to show that you love God, than by doing something that is going to piss off a whole crap load of arrogant grammar nazis

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

How do your answers compare when you think of jesus in comparison to computers, salty?

Why are you baiting him and derailing this thread?

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

It would also suck to use 'loose' instead of 'lose' and capitalize "his" when referring to god. jesus christ you need to get laid.

I see your Wisconsin education has failed you miserably.

When pointing out someone's mistakes, it help to make sure your sentence structure, puncuation, and capitalization are perfect. If you don't, it makes you look like a hypocrite.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

How the **** would you know? And quit capitalizing "him", it isn't proper English. It makes you look like a nutcase.

1. He never used the word "him".

2. It's common practice to capitalize all references to God, including personal pronouns.

[SuvsareRetarded]

It's ridiculous is what it is. It makes you look like you're quoting scripture.

[Railroader]

I'll put this train back on the tracks

Originally Posted by crawlingparanoia

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Following are 10 questions. If you have 5 minutes, please help me out by responding with your answers. Acceptable choices are listed. I'm hoping to get at least 20 responses, so the more that answer the merrier.

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

Sex
Male
Female

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
0-30 min
31-60 min
1-2 hours
2-4 hours
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes
no

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
word processing
programming/db
media/photos/video/music
gaming
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved
worsened
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved
worsened
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes
no
this seems to contradict the question right before this one. please explain

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes
no

Do you use a computer at work?
yes
no
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

It's ridiculous is what it is. It makes you look like you're quoting scripture.

It's giving respect to God. We really don't care if we look ridiculous to you or not. Live with it.

[SuvsareRetarded]

Originally Posted by Railroader

I see your Wisconsin education has failed you miserably.

When pointing out someone's mistakes, it help to make sure your sentence structure, puncuation, and capitalization are perfect. If you don't, it makes you look like a hypocrite.

I can write fine.

Saving the Creature

In the “Loss of the Creature,” Walker Percy conjures up many fictitious examples of how many people in today’s society forfeit their sovereign thought process in order to be a consumer instead of a true pioneer and why these people might feel empty or disappointed after what was supposedly a good time. He also discusses how to regain an appreciation for life’s varied experiences and some of the common pitfalls to avoid in achieving satisfaction. Most of all, this essay was about personal experience (the creature) being devalued in today’s society and what you can do about it.
Percy’s main point is that it’s very difficult to achieve a worthwhile experience because there are so many ways an event can be devalued. In his first story, he starts off discussing the Grand Canyon and how sharing the experience with other onlookers will somehow lessen your enjoyment of the spectacle. He says, “If the place is seen by a million sightseers, a single sightseer does not receive value P but a millionth part of value P” (Percy, 119). What Percy is really saying here is that the packaging, the way that the canyon was presented with the safe walkways and guided tours, is detrimental to experiencing the canyon itself. This point is reiterated in all of Percy’s stories. Another way Percy claims that we can lose track of ‘it’ is by the preconceived notions of what ‘it’ is supposed to be. When Percy writes, “It is almost impossible [to see the Grand Canyon for what it is] because it has been appropriated by the symbolic complex which has already been formed in the sightseer’s mind” (Percy, 119), he is basically saying that instead of being a free-thinking individual, people are being reduced to mere consumers—consumers of experiences, instead of people who actually taste and appreciate the variety of flavors and textures in life.
So, after learning how Percy thinks we lose track of a valuable experience, he then describes how we can regain it. He mentions that there are three ways of doing so: “the Inside Track, the Familiar Revisited, the Accidental Encounter” (Percy, 122). In terms of the Grand Canyon example, he goes into detail about each method. “He can recover it [the devalued experience] in any number of ways, all sharing in common the stratagem of avoiding the approved confrontation of the tour and the Park Service. It may be recovered by leaving the beaten track” (Percy, 120). He also says, “It [the experience] may be recovered by a dialectical movement which brings one back to the beaten track but at a level above it” (Percy, 120), and “the Thing is recovered from familiarity by means of an exercise in familiarity” (Percy, 121). His example cites a New Yorker taking a tour of the Statue of Liberty, and thus the statue which was familiar is now new to him again, and he can learn to appreciate it for what it is. Lastly, he describes the accidental encounter; “It [the experience] may be recovered as a consequence of a breakdown of the symbolic machinery by which the experts present the experience to the consumer” (Percy, 121).
The idea of avoiding the method in which everyone else chooses to view the canyon and trying to find a drastically different route is Percy again reiterating his idea of losing the packaging and trying to appreciate something for what it is. Whatever method one chooses, it cannot be an accepted path in terms of whoever is in charge, as he states, “the object of the dialectic is nothing other than the subversion of the efforts of the planners” (Percy, 121). To help one understand just how difficult it is to find an authentic experience, he personifies the experience as a “creature in its citadel of symbolic investiture,” (Percy, 122) which suggests that many barriers lie between you and ‘it’.
In his second story, Percy describes an American couple trying to find ‘it’ in Mexico. Again he claims that they need to find an unspoiled place, one “that has not been discovered by others” (Percy, 123). These people realize the methods for finding an authentic experience, but when they happen to come across one, the whole time they’re worried something could go wrong at any second. The couple fears that “a fellow Iowan might emerge from a ‘dobe hut; the chief might show them his Sears catalog” (Percy, 124), because if anything like that happened, their fragile mindset of finally having an authentic experience would be shattered. In thinking this way, they are constantly on the brink of disappointment the entire time, so when they leave, they experience “downright relief…at having the experience in the bag” (Percy, 123).

etc etc etc etc.

[SuvsareRetarded]

Originally Posted by Railroader

We really don't care if we look ridiculous to you or not.

That is quite apparent, hence why aren't embarassed to believe in a totally ridiculous contradictory man-made belief system.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

I can write fine.

Saving the Creature

In the “Loss of the Creature,” Walker Percy conjures up many fictitious examples of how many people in today’s society forfeit their sovereign thought process in order to be a consumer instead of a true pioneer and why these people might feel empty or disappointed after what was supposedly a good time. He also discusses how to regain an appreciation for life’s varied experiences and some of the common pitfalls to avoid in achieving satisfaction. Most of all, this essay was about personal experience (the creature) being devalued in today’s society and what you can do about it.
Percy’s main point is that it’s very difficult to achieve a worthwhile experience because there are so many ways an event can be devalued. In his first story, he starts off discussing the Grand Canyon and how sharing the experience with other onlookers will somehow lessen your enjoyment of the spectacle. He says, “If the place is seen by a million sightseers, a single sightseer does not receive value P but a millionth part of value P” (Percy, 119). What Percy is really saying here is that the packaging, the way that the canyon was presented with the safe walkways and guided tours, is detrimental to experiencing the canyon itself. This point is reiterated in all of Percy’s stories. Another way Percy claims that we can lose track of ‘it’ is by the preconceived notions of what ‘it’ is supposed to be. When Percy writes, “It is almost impossible [to see the Grand Canyon for what it is] because it has been appropriated by the symbolic complex which has already been formed in the sightseer’s mind” (Percy, 119), he is basically saying that instead of being a free-thinking individual, people are being reduced to mere consumers—consumers of experiences, instead of people who actually taste and appreciate the variety of flavors and textures in life.
So, after learning how Percy thinks we lose track of a valuable experience, he then describes how we can regain it. He mentions that there are three ways of doing so: “the Inside Track, the Familiar Revisited, the Accidental Encounter” (Percy, 122). In terms of the Grand Canyon example, he goes into detail about each method. “He can recover it [the devalued experience] in any number of ways, all sharing in common the stratagem of avoiding the approved confrontation of the tour and the Park Service. It may be recovered by leaving the beaten track” (Percy, 120). He also says, “It [the experience] may be recovered by a dialectical movement which brings one back to the beaten track but at a level above it” (Percy, 120), and “the Thing is recovered from familiarity by means of an exercise in familiarity” (Percy, 121). His example cites a New Yorker taking a tour of the Statue of Liberty, and thus the statue which was familiar is now new to him again, and he can learn to appreciate it for what it is. Lastly, he describes the accidental encounter; “It [the experience] may be recovered as a consequence of a breakdown of the symbolic machinery by which the experts present the experience to the consumer” (Percy, 121).
The idea of avoiding the method in which everyone else chooses to view the canyon and trying to find a drastically different route is Percy again reiterating his idea of losing the packaging and trying to appreciate something for what it is. Whatever method one chooses, it cannot be an accepted path in terms of whoever is in charge, as he states, “the object of the dialectic is nothing other than the subversion of the efforts of the planners” (Percy, 121). To help one understand just how difficult it is to find an authentic experience, he personifies the experience as a “creature in its citadel of symbolic investiture,” (Percy, 122) which suggests that many barriers lie between you and ‘it’.
In his second story, Percy describes an American couple trying to find ‘it’ in Mexico. Again he claims that they need to find an unspoiled place, one “that has not been discovered by others” (Percy, 123). These people realize the methods for finding an authentic experience, but when they happen to come across one, the whole time they’re worried something could go wrong at any second. The couple fears that “a fellow Iowan might emerge from a ‘dobe hut; the chief might show them his Sears catalog” (Percy, 124), because if anything like that happened, their fragile mindset of finally having an authentic experience would be shattered. In thinking this way, they are constantly on the brink of disappointment the entire time, so when they leave, they experience “downright relief…at having the experience in the bag” (Percy, 123).

etc etc etc etc.

Oh my.



Good luck with that.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

That is quite apparent, hence why aren't embarassed to believe in a totally ridiculous contradictory man-made belief system.

Huh? Didn't you just write that you could write just "fine"?

Try writing this post again. This time, try to make some sense.

[Tesseract]

18
M
4+
Y
first 4
no effect
improved
no
yes
no
did when I was working
3

[forkies]

Originally Posted by Railroader

I see your Wisconsin education has failed you miserably.

When pointing out someone's mistakes, it helps to make sure your sentence structure, puncuation, and capitalization are perfect. If you don't, it makes you look like a hypocrite.

as has your education, apparently

i don't give a **** if ppl misspell things on an internet forum, but instances like this are just classic

[macintologist]

Here you go

Originally Posted by crawlingparanoia

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Following are 10 questions. If you have 5 minutes, please help me out by responding with your answers. Acceptable choices are listed. I'm hoping to get at least 20 responses, so the more that answer the merrier.

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

Sex
Male
Female

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
0-30 min
31-60 min
1-2 hours
2-4 hours
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes
no

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
word processing
programming/db
media/photos/video/music
gaming
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved
worsened
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved
worsened
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes
no

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes
no

Do you use a computer at work?
yes
no
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by forkies

as has your education, apparently

i don't give a **** if ppl misspell things on an internet forum, but instances like this are just classic

Note, I am did not point out any of his mistakes. I was simply showing him that he was acting hypocritical.

Why didn't you give him flack when he corrected Salty?!? Or were you just being selective?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by SuvsareRetarded

How do your answers compare when you think of jesus in comparison to computers, salty?

Hey Rob, your mom called and told me you were acting like a jerk again.

[forkies]

Originally Posted by Railroader

Why didn't you give him flack when he corrected Salty?!? Or were you just being selective?

you caught me, i'm being selective. errors in subject-verb agreement are my pet peeve!

[ghporter]

Age
40-49

Sex
Male

How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
1-2 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
word processing
(both equally)

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
20-29

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by forkies

you caught me, i'm being selective. errors in subject-verb agreement are my pet peeve!

Good. It's certainly not capitalization at the beginning of sentences.

[Salty]

Now now all you grammar nazis... Jesus may love you but you're making it bloody hard for everyone else!

[TheoCryst]

Age
0-19

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
1-2 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[jasonsRX7]

Age
20-29

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[andreas_g4]

I have never touched a computer and probably never will.

[SSharon]

20-29
Male
4 hours+
yes

email/internet/webcam/im
word processing
media/photos/video/music

improved because of webcam

improved, with the exception of a couple misunderstandings since sarcasm and IM aren't friends.

yes
yes
yes
yes at my AV job, no at dining services and no for the ambulance

0-19

[SVass]

Age

60-69


Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
2-4 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
Not applicable

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
Not applicable

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
20-29
sam

[Salty]

I should mention my access to computers has caused me to meet some of the most obnoxious people on the planet . Apparently nobody will talk to them off line .

[andreas_g4]

My Ironometer just blew.

[wdlove]

Originally Posted by crawlingparanoia

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
50-59

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?

4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes


What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im/forums/Diary

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?

no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved


If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?

no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
no

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes


How old were you when you first started using computers?

30-39

Hope this helps. Will be interested to hear teh reults. Let me know if you need anything else.

[urbatronik]

Age
20-29

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
4 hours+ (12)

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes


What is the primary use of your computer?
other (work)

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved


If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[crawlingparanoia]

Polls closed! Will report back soon with results.

[crawlingparanoia]

Thanks to everyone who answered and took this seriously! In total I got 48 responses. Here are the results; I'll have more interesting statistics when I analyze this further.

Age
0-19 (11)
20-29 (21)
30-39 (8)
40-49 (6)
50-59 (1)
60-69 (1)
70+ (0)
Sex
Male (39)
Female (9)

How have computers impacted your life?

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
0-30 min (0)
31-60 min (2)
1-2 hours (5)
2-4 hours (11)
4 hours+ (30)

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes (41)
no (7)

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im (13)
word processing (0)
programming/db (1)
media/photos/video/music (4)
gaming (1)
other (8)
more than 1 of the above (21)

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved (18)
worsened (1)
no effect (29)

How have computers impacted your relationship with friends?
improved (32)
worsened (3)
no effect (13)

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes (21)
no (27)

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes (43)
no (5)

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes (40)
no (8)

Do you use a computer at work?
yes (31)
no (3)
don’t work (14)

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19 (41)
20-29 (4)
30-39 (3)
40-49 (0)
50-59 (0)
60-69 (0)
70+ (0)

[mdc]

oops, i missed the deadline.

[crawlingparanoia]

I'm here with (the interesting) results! (Sorry it took so long)

A total of 48 people answered the survey - 39 male, 9 female.

Ages:
• 0-19: 11
• 20-29: 21
• 30-39: 8
• 40-49: 6
• 50-59: 1
• 60-69: 1
• 70+: 0

Usage per day:
4+ hours: 62.5%
2-4 hours: 22.9%
1-2 hours: 10.2%
30-60 minutes: 4.16%
0-30 minutes: 0%

Based on answers to different questions I was able to classify all users as either casual, passionate, or intermediate users of computers.
• Passionate: 29%
• Casual: 12.5%
• Intermediate: 58.5%

Distribution of passionate users:
• age 0-29: 71%
• age 30+: 29%

Distribution of older users:
• Passionate: 25%
• Casual/Intermediate: 75%

Here's a relevant excerpt from my paper:

Twenty-two people responded that they would not give up computers for money, but if they could have the money and continue using computers, then they would take it. This is roughly 46% of respondents. These people therefore like money (most people do), but value computers even more. Of this 46%, thirteen spend four or more hours on computers per day. This is 27% of respondents. Of this 27%, eleven encourage others to use computers. This is 23% of all respondents. So 23% of respondents comprise a group that would not trade computers for money, spends 4 or more hours per day on computers, and encourages others to use computers as well. Thus, this 23% is highly passionate about computing. There are also three respondents who spend 4 or more hours per day on computers, encourage others to use computers, but would not accept the money based on principle. It is safe say these three respondents are passionate about computing as well. This makes for a total of 14 respondents, or 29%, who are passionate about computing.

Of the thirty-four non-passionate computer users, seven said their lives would not significantly change if they no longer used computers. This is 14.5% of respondents. Of those 14.5%, six would give up computers for money. This is 12.5%. These are clearly casual users. The remaining twenty-eight respondents, or 58.5%, that are neither passionate nor casual I have labeled intermediate users.

Of the fourteen respondents who are passionate about computers, ten are younger than thirty. This means that 71% of passionate users are young. Also worth noting, is that of the same fourteen respondents, twelve started using computers before the age of twenty. So 85.7% of respondents who are passionate about computers began using them at an early age.

Out of all respondents, sixteen are age thirty or older. Of these sixteen, only four are passionate users. Thus 75% of respondents age thirty or older are casual or intermediate computer users.

and some relevant conclusions:

So what can we make of all this data? The results of my survey show a couple of things. First, the distribution of users according to the levels of their computer usage follows a near bell curve if taken on an ordinal scale. This implies that the majority of computer users are indeed intermediate users, and that both casual and passionate users represent two extremes. Computers are thus not penetrated into our lifestyle to the amount that they are completely necessary. However, they are penetrated into our lifestyle enough that they are extremely useful. Second, the distribution of passionate users is skewed towards younger individuals and individuals who learned to use computers at a younger age. Thus there is a trend toward computers becoming more integrated into our lifestyle since younger individuals are more likely to be heavy computer users. Third, although most older users are more of the casual or intermediate type, there are still some older, passionate users of computers. This shows that even individuals who may have not grown up with computers are becoming passionate users as well.

and lastly, problems I noticed with my survey:

In conducting my research, I discovered many flaws in my survey. First, I assumed that everyone owns a computer. Obviously this is not the case. I was able to circumvent the issue by only surveying those people who actually own a computer, but to truly answer my question of how computers have affected people’s lives, I should not have done that. Second, the questions about improving or worsening relations with family and friends did not show any obvious trend as I had hoped, and ultimately proved wasted since I was unable to use them. Third, my sample of forty-eight people is hardly representative of any real-world population. Thus, although my survey produced some great results, it can hardly be trusted as representative of any real-world trends.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

[sworthy]

whoops... missed the deadline by a lot....

[nredman]

Age
20-29

Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?

31-60 min


What is the primary use of your computer?

email/internet/im

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?

improved

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?

improved


If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?

yes

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?

yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
no

Do you use a computer at work?
yes


How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[Doofy]

Age
30-39

Sex
Male

How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
2-4 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
no

What is the primary use of your computer?
other (annoying hippies)

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with friends?
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
As long as I could use computer-like devices.

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
no

Do you use a computer at work?
? I use it to control investments. If you can call that work.

How old were you when you first started using computers?
20-29

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by Salty

Now now all you grammar nazis... Jesus may love you but you're making it bloody hard for everyone else!

I'm not defending Rob's attacking you, but give the grammar nazi thing a rest. Spelling does matter. Frankly, you sound like you must be no older than 16 when you misspell "lose"/"loose". Take care of business.

[besson3c]

Paranoia:

Aren't you getting a rather skewed sample by asking people on a computer forum questions about their computer usage? Or, are you specifically sampling people you know to be involved with computers in some capacity?

[Bandit240]

Age
20-29

Sex
Male


Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
media/photos/video/music

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[Hugi]

Age: 20-29
Sex: Male

How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
programming/db

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

[OldManMac]

Originally Posted by crawlingparanoia

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Following are 10 questions. If you have 5 minutes, please help me out by responding with your answers. Acceptable choices are listed. I'm hoping to get at least 20 responses, so the more that answer the merrier.

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

Sex
Male
Female

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
0-30 min
31-60 min
1-2 hours
2-4 hours
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes
no

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
word processing
programming/db
media/photos/video/music
gaming
other

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved
worsened
no effect

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved
worsened
no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes
no

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes I sell them
no

Do you use a computer at work?
yes
no
don’t work

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60-69
70+

Answers in bold.

[d4nth3m4n]

Originally Posted by crawlingparanoia

I'm taking a survey for a paper I'm writing for my anthropology class. The question I'm looking to answer is "How have computers impacted your life?"

Following are 10 questions. If you have 5 minutes, please help me out by responding with your answers. Acceptable choices are listed. I'm hoping to get at least 20 responses, so the more that answer the merrier.

Thanks in advance! At the end I'll tabulate the statistics and post the results.

--

Age
20-29


Sex
Male

Questions
How much time do you spend on the computer per day?

1-2 hours

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?

email/internet/im
media/photos/video/music


How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved


How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?

no effect

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
yes


Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes


How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19

....

[Kr0nos]

Age
30-39

Sex
Male

How much time do you spend on the computer per day?
4 hours+

If you no longer owned a computer, would your life change significatnly?
yes

What is the primary use of your computer?
email/internet/im
media/photos/video/music
design/web-development

How have computers impacted your relationship with family?
improved

How have computers impacted your relationship with with friends?
improved

If you were offered enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, but you could never use a computer again, would you take the money?
no

Would you take the money if you could still use computers?
yes

Do you encourage others to use computers?
yes

Do you use a computer at work?
yes

How old were you when you first started using computers?
0-19