CNN

I am still trying to figure out the best way to have access while I use the toilet and the shower.

Jack,

If a foreign power were to attack the US one of the first things it would target is our internet infrastructure. That should answer your question right there.

Many of us just are to dependent on it. I use it form time to time but do not live and die by the internet.

Internet Dependency? I think we are extremely dependent on the internet and for good reason. The internet gives us all sides of the issues, something the media has been failing at for some time now. We can check the liberal blogs, the conservative blogs and even the direct source of information. We don't need a media outfit to predigest information for us anymore. It's all there on the internet. I'm only glad the internet is getting more mobile, so we don't have to sit at a desk to get the information we need anymore.

I have to report to you daily and feel lost when I am away from my puter and not getting to voice my opinions.

Not at all Jack! I mean, the only time I get to talk to my wife is by computer. I shop on the computer. I find out how bad the government is on the computer. I go on the computer to play games instead of playing with my kids. Instead of talking to humans, I just email them. Instead of sending a Christmas card, I send free ecards. Dependent...nah!

Wildwood Crest, NJ

Jack, I don't have time to answer your stupid internet question. My Ebay auction is ending in forty seconds and I can't risk getting negative feedback. Just check out my blog, email me later, okay?

I don’t need the internet at all. It is a train wreck in progress. Besides I can stop any time I want.

Jack,
I have become very dependent on the internet in the last 10 years. I cannot imagine a day without being able to use the internet in some way. I pay bills, catch up on current events when the situation room is not on. I maintain contact with family and friends. I use it for work related endevors and for my personal entertainment. I use it to shop at times. I use it for almost everything. I am hooked.! For me the internet is more adictive than Yatzee or cannoli's!

Judie
St. Augustine, Fl

as a disabled Vet the net is essential to my mental well being. I have more friends I chat with on line and play games with than I ever had in real life. This allows me to exercise my brain and have a good laugh at the same time. More Seniors should start connecting with other Seniors on line.

Without the internet where would we be with no question about where would we be without the internet. I guess that people would have to read newspapers and news magazines to get the news which would be days late in reporting what was happening. But then since it appears to be a given that the majority of people do not read I guess that we would be more ignorant of politics and world affairs that we already are.

day for me without the internet is like a day without information sound life sunshine

Jack can you imagine.... No Internet, no cell phone, no ATM machines, no cable TV? Man the 80s must have sucked!

I wouldn't say most are dependent on the Internet but merely use it as a tool for information and communication. Having said this if it didn't exist there would be millions of jobs for people to do that are necessary now becuase of the Internet.

Totally! I work in technology and could not live without it!

The beauty of the internet is that it allows me to work anywhere at any time.

The bane of the internet is that I end up working everywhere all of the time!

Jack: Very dependent. Information on the Internet is subject to the same rules and regulations as conversation at a bar-you just never have to leave home.

Jack, we are probably too dependent on the internet. We shop there, learn there, watch programming there, and we find ways to communicate with people we would otherwise never come into contact with there. If it were to go down for a month, people would be suprised at just how much it would effect them.

I know I'd shop less.

Hi Jack,

we have become dependent on the use of internet because it allows people to independantly communicate without having to go through channel for approvals!

Jack, Some think too much. Some think not enough. I personally like it. It has helped us t reestablish communications wirth some people
on a more regular basis. Otherwise it would only be Christmas.
This is a very noncommital attitude , but I hope that it might be close to many user's attitudes.

Jack, I grew up without the internet, without cellphones, without copy machines, and for the most part, without any phone at all. Now people are lost without any of those. I'm not saying that they are necessarily a bad thing, but they do tend to detract from what is important in life, that "personal" connection.

Jack: Unifortunately, way to much dependent on the internet. Newspapers which have a history in this country which pre-dates the American Revolutionary War are going by the wayside due to the internet. I hope they all do not die out. Newspapers are the best for complete coverage of an issue, and they stay on the important stories longer than TV or the internet.

John
Alabama

too much!.. i think that most americans use the internet for filing out job applications, downloading music, reading newspapers etc..personally, it doesn't makes any difference to me..

It is a great tool and as long as we don't try to answer your questions while we're driving like some people use cell phones to text message then what's the big deal.

I don't know how dependent other people are, but I'm dependent on the internet for news of all kinds, for information and for entertainment. It is a great tool.

Jack
I, for one, am quite dependent on the internet. I can select and read articles in nearly every newspaper in every state in the union as well as foreign countries. They can give me a perspective on our country and on our world that could never before have been possible. I can also see videos of movies, music, and world events almost as soon as they occur. The internet is a whole new world that everyone can explore regardless of their financial or physical circumstances. Kudos to the internet.
Jack in Boynton Beach Florida

Internet better than sex?

Never!

Without a doubt, the Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time. It allows you to learn about different cultures, countries, planets, galaxies, etc. – all from the comfort of your home. It has become essential for shopping and product comparison, personal finances, education, etc. You no longer have to make trips to the bank to cash your paycheck and pay bills, to the library to study, or to the stores to shop. Without it, our lives would surely become much more difficult and expensive.

Very, and its scary. But the internet also puts forward a level playing field for all people. The good and the bad. We all need to bring back our sense of judgement which has been beat down by our society for years.

Well, let's see: they both require at least some up-front investment, and they sure both require skill if a person is to properly enjoy their benefits. And of course, a person can catch nasty viruses from either one.

I'm not so sure they're not the same thing.

Jack, I read about the survey to which I think you're referring, and the articles were quite misleading. Participants were asked which they'd rather go without for 2 weeks – not forever.

And just calling it "Internet" isn't fair. It's a shortcut to everything we do – job searches, homework research, social event invitations, news, shopping, entertainment, etc. It's not like we're just IMing each other all day.

Boise, ID

Well, I would have sent you this comment by telegraph but I'm a little rusty on my Morris Code!

Hey Jack,
The internet is great for instant information of everything. News, Products for sale, events, and Human History. To have all of this informaion at my fingertips here in my home office is rather incredible, and profound. Plus it is interactive unlike TV.
I find it to be an ingenious concept to bring the World closer.
I love it!
Thomas, Carlsbad, California.

The internet is a wonderful tool but I find myself on it way to much.
Love to blog and the day can pass me by while am totally absorbed in agreeing, disagreeing, mouthing off. As with your web site clearly allows us to do
Also has it's good points, you can do your shopping, can find out any information you want and keep up with what is happening in the world. Do hope that all our dependence on the puter will not someday bite us in the butt.

The internet (a two way street), will eventually replace TV (a one way street). Hang it up, guys. The party's over.

Have you ever gone a week without getting on the internet?

We have become way to dependant on the internet. It's making us, very lazy. We don't want to take the time to do any kind of homework to find anything we need. The first thing we do is google it. Makes me glad I can only shop, check mail, and leave comment's. And I don't wish to learn any more. I'd rather do something's the old faihion way.

I'm answering this question, Jack. Does that help?

The internet is not better than sex...just a close second!

I almost never write a check, buy a stamp, use a phonebook, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, or lots of other things that used to be esssential. I can buy almost anything, including groceries, online and have them delivered to my home, if I choose. At least I am old enough to remember how to do those things, if the internet ever goes away for some reason, such as not paying my ever-growing cable bill. (which I pay online)

The entire world is becoming more dependant upon the internet every day and I think it's a good thing. In spite of the potential for abuses, the internet allows for the spread of information around the world at a speed unheard of just a few short years ago. It's far more difficult for tyrannical regimes to suppress the truth than ever before. And regular folks like me have a chance to voice our ideas and opinions. It's through this kind of open communication that will help us achieve great things.

Well let's compare the internet to alternative sources of information.

Newspapers are thorough and let you chose from the complete array of what they offer, but they average being half a day out of date.

The broadcast media is up-to-date, and sometimes offers moving video of the event being reported on, but it's not as thorough, and one cannot control which of the limited stories are chosen to be shown, nor in whicht sequence.

The internet offers the best of both types of newspapers and broadcast. It offers access to encyclopedic information that's as up-to-date as news media. It has restored the written, albeit typed, word as a popular form of person-to-person communication. It has expanded the ability to share their views on a global soapbox. It's like having instant access to the world's libraries, catalog's, media, etc. etc. anytime, anyplace.

Yet we could certainly survive without it, as we did before it's evolution, but why would we want to?

It has become an integral part of majority of Americans and it has become a world by itself.

It sure does make life easier! On the other hand, there's an awful lot of stress when it "goes down". Gosh, when I was in high school the closest thing we had to technology was a slide rule and an IBM Selectric! I find today's technology fascinating!

I hope no one said yes, unless they're very young.

Very! I love the information at my finger tips and chatting with family and new friends around the world.

And, how you select your tv emails based on agreement with your point of view!!

Probably a little bit less once they find out the government is watching every word they type and every colorful metaphor thet let fly.

Probably as dependent as that 1st cup of coffee in the morning and to soem that's during the internet use...

Yes!

Jack,
The internet opens a whole new world to me every day. It never ceases to amaze me. Being retired and aged, I can go anywhere in the world and space, research any subject, work if I choose to without ever leaving my home. I can type in any subject or question, and receive anywhere from ten to millions of websites to explore. Truly amazing. And I thought that the invention of the radio was awesome.

The Internet has taken away the need to interact on a face-to-face basis with anyone else. We, as a society, have become a very rude and unfriendly group of people. It's more important to be talking on a cell phone or surfing the Web than interacting and talking to other human beings around us. Technologists have developed sites such as Second Life so that we can all become shut ins and live a supposedly more satisfying life devoid of any shortcomings. But are such interactions as rewarding? I believe that in the long run, it will be noted as the beginning of the end of society as we know it.

Nether one is very dependable. They are exciting for a while, but eventualy they both crash on you and let you down. Just when you think you have them masterd, someone els sneeks in and gets your goodies while your not looking. Your hands can be much more dependable in many other ways.

Jack, to put your conversation in perspective, only about 20 percent of the world's population has Internet access today, and it's less than 5 percent in Africa. In this century, the literacy and affluence gap between the world's haves and have-nots will be measured and influenced in terms of Internet access.

no i dont really believe so because you would be surprised at how many people dont even know how to use a computer.

danny
stanford kentucky

That is the peril of progress. Just like sex or any other activity, becoming too attached to it can be viewed as addictive or otherwise bad for people.

Jack,

the internet was the doorway into new technology, a new generation, and possibly has one of the biggest impacts in technological history. i can read the news, look up game scores, check mail, write papers, talk to people, you name it. There has never been something with such an impact in my life as well as millions of others as the internet has been in any issue.

Let's put it this way:

Whoever said "Money can't buy happiness", never shopped on Ebay!!

the Internet has opened up a whole new world. but if i had a choice i'd be back in the 60's the good ol day's when thing's were pure and simple... god i miss that 57 chev'e

Probably - Groceries are the only things I leave the house for these days.

Pretty soon we'll have holographic internet. Like they say : Once you go net, you don't regret . Just typing this note gives me an adrenaline rush !

A long time ago Johnny Carson's Tonight Show was blamed for a lack of sex in American bedrooms. Television was the addiction then just like computers and the Internet are addictions now. For some the Internet can provide a certain stimulus to enhance love making, but when it crosses the line where it becomes an obsession and interferes with every day human interaction, then it's time to unplug. Turn the infernal computer off and go cuddle - think of this as practice for extended power outages or computer crashes.

Well, here I am again, as is the case every Mon-Fri, so there you go. Have you considered doing this on Sat & Sun, too?

We are basically animals a week without computers,TVs, and other modern conveniences we go back to survival mode. The strong will survive.

L.M.,Arizona

Let me give you an example:

About ten years ago, my car broke down on the way to work. I turned on my laptop so I could email my boss to tell him that I would be late for work. I also gave him my cellphone number so he could contact me if he had any questions!

The internet is a great place for gathering information. I pay for the internet, so why pay for a newspaper which has day old news.

I do not believe in buying items from the internet as I do not trust anyone with the credit card information. I do not even use credit cards locally as I don't trust the card swipers.

It is easier to stop by the drive up window at the bank, get the money you have figured out to spend for your purchases and never have to worry about over spending.

If a person does not have the cash in their pocket for the purchase, maybe they really don't need the item. People have to take charge of their spending items and quit going into debt.

Hi Jack,

Hey if wasn't for the internet I wouldn't have knowed just how high my i.q were.

Too much of a good thing isn't nessesarily a good thing now is it? Who would have dreamed we had so many perverts on this planet? As far as information goes well its only good information if it's true! Sadly enough its hard to distinguish what is and what isn't true. That makes the internet dangerous. Maybe we should declare war on it.....

Speaking for myself, "totally". I am near or actually using my computer all day, every day. Like Kay in Canton, groceries are the only things I leave the house for these days, and then only once a week.

I am 70 years old and can't believe my girls talked me into using a computer last year. We didn't even have a phone, an indoor bathroom or running water, when we got married. I don't get on the internet much, only to write to you, health questions and read the paper. I have too many e-mails to write and read. Not too bad for a great granny, huh Jack?

Jack it is on the same level as tissue paper, soap, toothpaste and fish and chips on friday... Just got to have it.

It's not just an addiction, It's a rush. I can type this message, make my next "guaranteed to be there" on-line Christmas purchase, check my bank balance, renew my driver's license, order a pizza for dinner, and then swing back to the Cafferty file just in the nick of time to see which comments were read. Not so long ago, that would have taken me all day. Now, I can do it in less than an hour.

I shop on line, I take online classes, I mostly communicate with my family, who live overseas, online ,CNN's Rick Sanchez is becoming one of my favorite anchors because i can connect with him and speak my mind online. So Jack, I live online.

Jack's page on the internet gives people like me a chance to at least write our opinions and ideas down. We can send these comments into the wild blue yonder and have an outlet for our frustrations concerning our country and the politics involved. Whether anybody reads them is out of our hands – but it helps.

I met my wife online in 1992. I even proposed (and she accepted) on-line. That is the most important use of the internet I will ever find.

I still remember how to read books and newspapers, use a landline phone, and talk to humans present in the room. I don't plan on giving up internet access. But I'll log off any time to share some conjugal bliss. Nothing on-line compares, ever!

The Internet is likely somewhat addictive to the younger generation while some us older fogeys just use it for rapid communication and the occasional search for information on some obscure subjects.

Having said this more than likely as each day goes by all of us will become more and more dependent on the Internet and pace this will happen will be a direct result of how computer literate each of us have become.

Yes, we are dependent, maybe too dependent, on the internet. Many have allowed it to become an oracle, where everything they read has to be correct - which is far from true. It should be used with a certain level of skepticism and awareness that because something is in black or white - or is digitized - does not make it right. It is a tool, and as a tool, can be misused or used correctly. It IS convenient, though - no parking problems, no lines, no sales people, etc.

No more than my great grandfather was on his horse to get him into town, to his neighbors and plow his fields.

Americans have become very dependent on the Internet. Some use it wisely and some not so wisely.
Brownwood, Texas

Take a good look at the social skills of the "Text Generation" and you'll get an idea of just how low we have fallen as a nation. Although the Internet has given us huge jumps in communication, it has also destroyed, in a single generation, the ability to interact with each other on a personal basis. It is a two edged sword, and for every benefit there is an equal detriment.

No, no just a tool to learn how the world turns.

Dependent on the internet? More like trapped in the 'net. The first thing in the morning, all day long, then the last thing I do before bed is check out my home page for a quick look at what's happening in the world.

But I don't bring it to bed........

Kevin Foster
Marseilles, IL

Jack, We have become overly dependent on the internet. When the electricity goes off so does everbody's brain. Charley Iowa

The Internet has become a great tool for all of us but I miss the 60's and the back seat of my 64 Ford Galxie 500XL. The 60's were the good old days.

Jack,
Not only are we too dependent on the internet, it has provided us with a new form of discrimination. There are millions of people who are not on the internet, the older generations, people who cannot afford a computer and many more who for some reason do not use it. These people get left out a lot. One for instance is game shows, to participate you must be on line. Another is yourself. Think about it.

Are you kidding, next to you Jack, the internet is my source of almost anything I need to know. It is like having a library and atlas at my fingertips. I have learned more from the internet in the past few years than I ever did from newspapers.

Too much. But it will change too. We are always addicted to something or the other. There is no right or wrong in it. It is just as is.

Nuwan from Houston, TX

You are forced to use the internet on a daily basis. Many companies and financial institutions no longer deal with their clients by US mail. All communications are now through the internet..what they call green communications. Children must have internet access to complete homework assignments. College students submit assignments, take test and in some cases, take entire classes online. Most companies no longer take job applications in-house. You must submit your application onlline. Are we dependent? As a society, yes.

Heck no.

It is a shame that so many millionaires lost so much money in the 50 million $ rip off buy how about the mollions that lossed $ on their 401's etc and all of the deflated mortgages that are still increasing! They don't even have a home!!!! I guess if your rich you can get the bum arrested What about having A.I.G held accountable?

.

i.

g

I saw this 'survey'....are you kidding me??? From the sound of so many of the other responses...it looks like it won't matter...as the human race will cease to exist!!

NO WAY WOULD I GIVE UP SEX FOR THE INTERNET!!!!

In fact, I am, even now, wishing desparately for simpler times!!!

. . . None of your business, Jack!

I've had the internet. I've had sex. I've had internet sex. I'll take sex any day.

The world is addicted to the internet, but it's no surprise, we've become addicted to just about everything that is thrown our way, microwaves, cell phones, fast food, 4 wheel drive, television, email, calculators, suntanning salons, text messages, and even spell check. We've become dependent upon stores for all our needs, house cleaners, baby sitters, Pre-K, and all the rest, and why? Did it make our lives less stressful.....probably not, less complicated, definitely not, and will it get any better, absolutely not.

We are a totally dependent society and there will come a time when only the fittest will survive, not in any race, but in practicality, in growing our own food, raising our own livestock (kids excluded), and fending for ourselves.

I just hope I can get most of that survival information off the internet before it actually happens!

Based on what the Founders thought, we are ALL qualified as long as we meet the Constitutional requirements. Ms. Kennedy meets the Constitution, so she is qualified, as we all are. She's interested, she's qualified, and she should be considered.

I guess online addicts realize they'll never get laid, so they use the internet as foreplay, and that's the closest they'll ever get.

Jack, I never want to have a cel phone either.

Yes Jack The world is addicted to the Internet, especially Wall Street and Main Street.

At the speed of light around the globe, shady stock deals and bank deals at your fingertips.

You can carry the Internet with you wherever you go day or night, it is always there.

I wonder the messes that were in was caused by the Internet Since everything is dependent upon it.

instead of writing letters, we e-mail each other.

instead of talking on the telephone, we text message.

instead of reading books we read the internet.

so many of today's 'inventions' serve more to seperate us than draw us together. instead of a family gathering around to play board games or having discussions around the dinner table, each person is isolated in their space on my space, texting or playing computer games.

do i think we are too dependant on on the internet?

in a word, yes.

can you tell i'm a luddite?

susi
tucson

Hey guys, my comments are disappearing again, what's going on?
The one on Caroline Kennedy went puff also.

I live around the internet. Pay my bills to save postage and search for a wealth of information. I do not totally trust cable news, so I search for the truth. The problem is we need to take the internet with 21 century secure identity. We have not using the advantageous technology that is available.

The Internet has pretty much replaced the telephone, regular mail and reading the newspaper. Time was families lived and stayed within a few miles of one another.
Now we rely on the Internet to stay connected and informed in many forms of relationships. I personally like the options I have and feel it is a positive way of life for my family and me.

I'm Democrat, a social liberal, and an Obama supporter since his 2004 convention speech and this offends me. She has no experience and no demonstrable ideas – just a name. We Obama supporters are not robots who will support whoever supported him. We flocked to Obama for the ideals he represents – restoring America's integity and status in the world and respect for hard working people at home. She can't claim any ideas of her own and we New Yorkers deserve better.

Personally I love the thing. I can communicate easily with folks all round the world, I can stay informed on important issues and as an educator I can increase my own and my students knowledge of cutting edge science. Without the internet it would be back to the odd letter once or twice a year and huge numbers of hours spent in stuffy libraries looking at few sources. Heck, the other day a friend sent flowers and was able to see them delivered to his girlfriend several thousand miles away. I can only see its use growing and frankly feel that that is a good thing.

Well Jack, who puts an ad for employment in the newspapers any more, that costs, I'd never find a job without the internet.

Jack, I don't have sex but I do use the internet.

Internet if sex with the right person. Sex if my wife.

Of course the internet is better then sex where have you been, I never want to have sex again, I chose to be in love with the internet period. My computer is my husband!

Of course we're too dependent on the internet. After all, I'm reading and responding to this on the internet.

"If television is a babysitter, the Internet is a drunken librarian that won't shut up"

Since I spend way to much time on the internet I don't get much sex as it is. Guess i will just keep it that way.

Um.... Jack! Aren't they the same?

I'd rather give up the sex. I actually already have, as my husband is in Afghanistan working as a contractor.

Holly
Atlanta, GA

Gotta have my intrawebz

Define sex.

"jack,let me think about it"

I would give up either of them for NPR Radio.

Jack,
The interenet is for sex.

i'd give up TV AND Internet before i give up sex... unless someone has their priorities switched in a weird way.

at least you know your gonna get something with the internet

Well Jack, I am on the internet a whole lot more than I am on my wife!

Sex? What's that?

Hold on a sec...I've got an instant message coming in...

Scott
Santa Maria, CA

i would be willing you give up the internet as long as my wife would stop telling me not to bother her so much...

No sex for 2 weeks? No problem... been there, done that... but you'll have to pry the mouse out of my cold dead hands.

I think its a question of do we depend on it or do we use it for pleasure. It all depends on the situation, with my current situation (a college student), I would easily give up sex in order to have access to the internet, because college work now depend on it so much.

thanks!
JF

Absolutely Jack!
The internet is way better than sex. You never met my wife!

Love
Autnie Jeannie

The internet is the greatest tool on this world, no wonder i would pick it before sex.

Sex before internet.

I can't remember the last time I had sex, so for me the point is moot.

Give up sex on the internet?

NO WAY!

But you can have a kidney if you must.

Now that me and my fiance has moved in together, we barely ever do the no pants dance... I would kick the internet to the curve to get some again.

sex or the internet? What about those people that get their sex over the internet?

I haven't had sex for 25 years. I'm using the Internet now. Does that answer your question?

If it's only for 2 weeks, I'd give up the sex. But if it goes much longer, I think I'd have to kick the internet to the curb. I don't know if my boyfriend agrees with my decision or not, though.

Hi. I would give up internet, but internet is undeniably an integral part of our modern world, and I would rather not have to choose

i believe internet may be better, it helps you revise situations other people have been through and is more effective and entertaining

All depends on what you do, kids, and if you want to find something without have to go out in a Blizzard to the library.

Surfing or sex???
No contest.....Cowabunga dude!

Sex? What's that?

Hold on a sec...I've got an instant message coming in...

I would gladly give up sex for 2 weeks just to be plugged into the internet. My sex life is down to twice a week because of the internet, so i can make that sacrifice.

Do I have to choose!?!?

I would have to give up sex. The internet has become such a large part of my business that my income depends on it. Thankfully my income doesn't depend on sex.

I wonder if Intel asked how many people actually have sex in any given two weeks. It would be really easy to give up sex for the internet if you are not having sex more than once every two weeks. As a matter of fact, could people with infrequent sex be more likely to turn to the internet to satisfy themselves?

Internet better than sex? What has happend to this country?!

Interesting choice.....but I have to go with Internet

Yes I would. Without internet, I would crumble.

Jack: because of the internet, I've found things better than sex. I don't have to wait for CNN to show the Bush shoe-throwing video again. I can just go on Youtube and watch it to my heart's delight.

And then there's the parody videos, nyuk-nyuk!

Well I would be more reluctant to give up the internet over sex, considering that I am married and we all know that married people don't have sex.

lol. I can go without sex for years.....
But not been log on for 2 days, thay just crazy...

The Internet is a near-infinite source of entertainment, knowledge, entrepenuerial possibilites and communication. Why wouldn't we become addicted to it?

Yes we are dependent on the internet.

As for which one I would give up. It's simple...The T.V.

The internet offers everything a television does including commercials, plus more.

While I don't know or believe that the internet is better than sex, I do need it more. Two weeks of no internet access just creates problems. Two weeks of no sex... hell, that's just par for the course these days.

As Henny Youngman once said, "....I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

I'd give up the internet Jack! I already had to drop my high-speed internet for free wifi thanks to Bush and friends economics.

OMG, I thought you were joking. These women must not have any kind of "fulfilling" love life or any life for that matter. This is no-brainer for me...I will gladly give up the internet! We have been married for 33 years the 31st of this month and we are "loving life and enjoying each other"!