Online時間長犧牲的是甚麼？

　　大家都知道互聯網改變了我們的生活習慣，儲存或起碼是使用時間的方式。但實際的改變是甚麼呢？　　最明顯的是我們online的時間多了。但除非你為了上網遲了睡或早了起�，否則做其他活動的時間就一定會減少了。減少的是甚麼活動，很少人會細心統計。有專欄作家就問了這個問題：　　We use the web to communicate(溝通), entertain ourselves, keep up with the news, and access information about almost anything our hearts desire. But for all that we've gained from the internet, how much has it taken away from us?減少消閒活動　　我們不亦樂乎的用互聯網與人溝通、娛樂、找資訊，代價是甚麼呢？美國一位經濟學者Scott Wallsten就為這個課題做了一項研究，試圖解答部分問題︰　　New research from economist Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., attempts to answer that question by contrasting the amount of "online leisure time" an average person spends today against traditional leisure activities.　　他專注的是"leisure activities"(消閒的活動)。研究發現︰　　...for every hour the average American spends engaged in online leisure activities, they now give up approximately: ．16 minutes of work,．seven minutes of sleep and ．17 minutes of other types of activities, such as socializing and performing housework.　　美國人工作少了，睡少了，做家務和社交的時間也少了。Sc迷你倉tt Wallsten最近在The National Bureau of Economic Research發表的報告"What Are We Not Doing When We're Online"的序言中承認，要找出真象不容易：　　The Internet has radically transformed the way we live our lives. The net changes in consumer surplus and economic activity, however, are difficult to measure because some online activities, such as obtaining news, are new ways of doing old activities while new activities, like social media, have an opportunity cost in terms of activities crowded out(被迫出局).　　Radically解完全地、徹底地。Radically transformed是完全地、徹底地改變。但對經濟活動的實際影響很難量度，因為有些網上活動只是「新瓶舊酒」，以新方式進行一向都會做的事，例如讀新聞。　　研究發現，因上網被犧牲的消閒活動是："Offline leisure activities that involve interacting(互動) with other people are crowded out by online leisure: attending parties and attending cultural events and going to museums are all negatively correlated with online leisure."限上網礙發展　　研究又發現美國人平均每天用十三分鐘上網消閒。不用他說大家都知道這數字沒太大反映現實的作用。因為這是用整體人口來計算的平均數。若孩子每天只花十三分鐘消閒，父母就不用這麼擔心。Danah Boyd在It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens中就提出理論，指家長過分控制孩子上網會窒礙他們的發展。文︰子慧self storage