One of my two bachelor of art degrees is in psychology. Although I learned of information about human behavior, I also discovered a wealth of overstated truths and overblown ideas. Researchers spend thousands of dollars and years of their lives in an attempt to "prove" one certain aspect of modern life. Working long hours increases stress, extreme lack of sleep leads to a hallucinatory state, growing up with only one parent causes the child more anxiety. All shocking statements to you, I'm sure. The 'common sense' factor never crops into a psychologist's mind, and the newest claim out of Stanford is no exception--spending time on the Internet makes people less social.

While people across the psychological spectrum are now debating and refuting the study with intense fervor, my reaction when I read the verdict was "Yeah, so?"

It was clear to me a long time ago that the Internet would not be a social entity. Forget about chat rooms, private (dirty talk) rooms and e-mail. These are not social situations. No one can see you, watch your expressions or even tell if your making a joke without a stupid :-) after it. If making sideways faces is your idea of social interaction, it only proves how antisocial the Internet is.

While I agree with the results, I'm not so worried about the ramifications as most. We've had tons of non-social entities (NSEs, talking with acronyms make your idea look more valid) since the beginning of the last century, and it hasn't hindered our ability to shake hands and engage in meaningless small talk. What new NSEs do is take the place of old NSEs. The Internet will swallow up the television, much like television did to the radio, and much like the radio did for dime store novels.

What the psychologists aren't taking into account is that while humans are social creatures, we can't socialize twenty-four hours a day. We need time to be by ourselves, doing activities without anyone else around. There is merit in taking part in the NSEs. I'm reading a short story collection of D.H. Lawrence right now, and no one would mistake me for being social with my head buried in his descriptions. Very few would scold me for the endeavor, though. Reading old fiction is an eccentric art. I watched my alma-mater's men's basketball team on television last night. Two hours of my life spent watching athletes displaying their abilities. While I can always get in a conversation about the team later, I don't think anyone would see what I was doing as research.

I have many NSEs. I hike the Sandia Mountains on the east side of my town, I read books, I watch TV, I listen to a wealth of different music, I go on bike rides along the arroyos and dirt trails off road, I watch videos, I sit in the backyard with a beer on warm days, I cook meals for myself, I pop on the Internet, and sometimes, I sit around bored and not wanting to do anything.

Just because I engage in NSEs doesn't mean I never go out. This last week, I went out more than usual, four out of five nights. Each time with different people and doing different things (although drinking always seemed to be part of the itinerary). By the end of the run, I didn't want to see anyone. I was tired of coming up with conversations and taking in the different scenes. I craved a little NSE time.

So yes, the Internet is an NSE. And if you spend ten hours on it a day, it will be a serious detriment to your well being. But I've always said that doing anything for that long a period can't be good (especially jobs). The Stanford folks didn't say anything beyond common sense, and the results shouldn't alarm anyone.

So keep your Web use at a reasonable level, but don't forget to read a certain Internet SUIT column every week.

Chris Jungle is on acronym probation.