perelgut (05/14/82)
utcsstat!geoff argues that new addiction isn't cause for alarm, expecially since innocents aren't being forced into computer addiction. I find this attitude frightening. Computers have entered into every facet of life these days and are unavoidable. Elementary schools use them to teach, video games are based on them, many homes have them. I feel that, as professionals, we should be concerned with any potentially harmful effects our profession may entail for both ourselves and for the general public. Innocents may not be dragged into dens of computing and force-fed until they become addicted but they are being exposed to an area which is very enticing. Feedback in computing is immediate. Very few readers of this article have not experienced the thrill of getting the tough problem solved or of writing a particularly "good" bit of code. According to the article which prompted my initial letter, 1% of computer users will become addicted. They weren't forced into this addiction, but they would not have chosen it had the choice become available. I am not suggesting that there are any easy solutions to the problem. In fact, I am not convinced that there are any solutions to the problem. However this should not imply that there is no problem or that it should be ignored. Are there people reading this who know of cases where cyberphilia was a major cause of a divorce or of a persons withdrawl from society? Such stories exist. The article relates one such story. Any profession engenders some such problems for the few who get carried away, but the gist of the article is that computing, being so immediate, may contain more such pratfalls than most. I believe it was F. Brown's "Mythical Man-Month" which pointed out that computing works with the stuff of thought. This makes the thrill that much more direct. --- stephen perelgut --- --- decvax!utzoo!utcsrgv!perelgut ---
minow (05/17/82)
When I was in college, there weren't any readily available computers,
so I was addicted to WPGU (carrier-current student radio), the University
theatre, and duplicate bridge. I have friends who are addicted to
computer hacking, juggling, bicycling ("can't see you this weekend, I'm
riding 60 miles to get in shape for July), nuclear disarmament,
dungeon and dragons, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
Certainly, in some cases, it is a means of shutting oneself out from
society. In others, it is only one facet of an otherwise well-integrated
personality. But if someone is facing a personal crisis and seeks
a hiding place, computer hacking is probably a better choice than, say
alkahol.
The impersonality of computer communication has some advantages, too.
We don't know each other's color, religion, or physical handicaps.
If we start "pen-pal" friendsips, we can discuss innermost feelings
with the same sense of distance that one would find in the confessional.
Martin Minow
decvax!minow