Forget what your spouse looks like? Having trouble remembering you're married? There might be a good reason for that: 65 percent of PC users spend more time in front of their monitors than interfacing with their spouses.
A recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans 18 and older with PC and broadband Internet access, shows 84 percent of respondents say they are more dependent on their PCs "in their everyday lives" than they were three years ago.
The increasing dependence on technology is partly to blame, according to industry research firm Kelton Research, which conducted the survey on behalf of automation vendor SupportSoft.
The Cyber Stress study, conducted between December 2006 and January 2007, also found that while PC users admit to making quality time with their desktops a priority over human interaction, it's not always fun. In fact, the average respondent reported experiencing computer problems eight times over the past three years, or about every four months.
The survey found that the average American is spending about 12 hours per month working on fixing problems on their home computer. Lastly, 52 percent of those polled said their most recent experiences with computer problems incited feelings of "anger, sadness or alienation."
"As computers become increasingly pervasive in our lives, our relationships with them can begin to seem almost as important as a relationship with a significant other. When problems then occur with the computer, it often leaves people feeling frustrated or helpless," said Dr. Robi Ludwig, renowned psychotherapist and host of The Learning Channel's reality series "One Week to Save a Marriage" in a SupportSoft company press release.
