PITTSBURGH – A new study by The Fortino Group, a leading marketing and communications consulting firm, revealed that American families and businesses are on the verge of a social “e-Mergency” caused by overexposure to the Internet.
After polling more than 6,000 Internet users of varying experience and
backgrounds nationwide, The Fortino Group discovered that the virtual and real
world are heading on a collision course. As a result, our youth, families and
businesses are in danger of suffering irreparable harm due to a variety of
“Cyber” illnesses discussed in “e-Mergency,” a book that captures the results
of the study and provides numerous common-sense solutions to balance the
virtual world with reality.
“The Internet is the rock-n-roll and MTV of the `Y’-Generation, and is
grossly misunderstood as a vice by most people,” says Michael Fortino,
President and CEO of The Fortino Group. “The Internet has leaped off the
screen and crept into every part of our lives, and this phenomenon is growing
more pervasive every day. Instead of ignoring or avoiding the Internet,
parents, friends and managers need to embrace the Internet through positive
efforts to avoid being casualties.”
For example, “e-Mergency” shows that Generation “Y”, the segment of the
U.S. population between the ages of 10 and 17, will spend close to a third of
their lives on the Internet. “The good news,” says Fortino, “is that these
young people will be five times more knowledgeable on world markets and world
economies and they will display far less prejudice as a result of exposure to
these cultural intersections.” “The bad news,” Fortino continues, “is that
Gen `Y’ proved twice as likely to discard a friend, to lash out at others
through `wirefire’, to find short stories and text books non-captivating, and
to fall behind in real-world experiences.”
- “Cyber” illnesses described in “e-Mergency”:
- Cyberphobia: Gen “Y” will be 34% more reserved in their social
skills. - Cyberseizure: Gen “Y” will participate in 22% fewer physical
activities and competitive sports. - Cyberschizophrenia: 92% of Gen “Y” practice “Identity
Counterfeiting” while on-line. - Cyberaddiction: Gen “Y” will spend as much time on-line chatting as
off-line chatting face-to-face. - Cyberscorched: Gen “Y” will score a full letter grade lower in
spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Additionally, “e-Mergency” tells us that the average Internet user, over
their lifetime, will strike the keyboard 165,352,000 times; make more than
42 million “mouse clicks;” will hear “You’ve Got Mail” 446,160 times; will
type about 304,200 e-mails; and waste time browsing at more than 1.1 million
useless Web pages.
