We'd rather surf Net than explore parks

I would add that you wouldn't even have time left over to mow your lawn, except that many of us manage to get that done with the aid of an mp3 player and headphones amped up to drown out the roar of the mower.

There are many fears that consume the waking hours of mortals who struggle through this veil of tears. For modern Americans, it seems none of these is as great as the fear that, left to nothing but the ambient sounds of nature, we will suffer boredom.

Network television, then, is in trouble only because it has lost the ability to connect directly to a captive audience. We are, instead, running wild with our portable machines, watching what we want, when we want and playing games all day beyond the grasp of advertisers.

I'll admit I'm talking about myself here, as well. With my pvp, I watch news programs from around the world. I download podcasts of network news shows mainly because I can watch them in only 20 minutes, without commercials.

That isn't a bad thing. But Pergams and his study suggests that other aspects to this phenomenon are. They don't all have to do with the fact that many people are choosing to use their newfound freedom to watch and engage in electronic activities that are less than wholesome.

People with "videophilia" may lose the natural tendency to be interested in the world around them and in other living creatures, including humans.

I'm sure if I get a moment, I could download a video about it.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com