More time spent online apparently leads to less time spent on real life, according to a new study.
The study, to be released Wednesday, shows that people who spend more than five hours per week online spend less time with family, friends, even television. It is one of the first studies to look at the Internet's impact on society. ''The more hours people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real human beings,'' said Norman Nie, a Stanford University political scientist who conducted the study along with Professor Lutz Erbring at the Free University of Berlin. The study surveyed 4,113 American adults in 2,689 households. About one-third said they were online five or more hours per week. Researchers found that every hour spent online typically reduced television viewing by that same amount, and people who were new to the Internet started watching less television almost immediately.