A recent flurry of complaints accusing Internet Solutions (IS) of blocking customers` access to porn sites illustrates how Internet use has shifted from its original aim of sharing important information.
The Internet, born as a way for the US army to spread and share military knowledge, is now a vital link to all things for many people - including entertainment and pornography.
Internet research shows that 12% of all Web sites are porn related, while 25% of all search engine requests and 8% of total e-mails are porn related, with an average of 4.5 pornographic e-mails sent per person each day.
Apparently, 70% of all Internet traffic involving porn occurs during the nine-to-five working day.
And, while we are on the subject of the non-crucial use of the Internet, other research shows that 30%-40% of Internet activity at the office is not work related, although this is not all porn related.
Some research has found up to 20% of the men surveyed admitted to accessing pornography at work. Surprisingly, 13% of the women surveyed confessed that they did too.
It would appear that the old king of office counter-productivity, the hourly smoke break, now has tough competition in the form of online pornography. And it`s fair to assume these global statistics apply in SA too, so many of the outraged users usually access their adult content from work.
It would appear that the old king of office counter-productivity, the hourly smoke break, now has tough competition in the form of online pornography
Stuart Lowman, junior journalist, ITWeb
On the one hand, it makes sense. Why would employees pay for their own Internet access and wait for ages for their new porn to download via dial-up modem, when the office could foot the bill and they could get their dirty pictures faster?
On the other hand, time wasting in any form costs companies billions, and the amount of time people could waste when side-tracked on porn sites and naughty chatrooms is immense. Not to mention the negative effects a company could suffer as a result of porn swapping slowing down the company`s mission critical IT networks.
So, while we sympathise with the local Internet users who have been deprived of their regular adult content access, we have to wonder how much of the deprivation was caused by IS or an ISP censoring their content, and how much of it was the result of companies finally cracking down on time wastage at work.
Honestly, I don`t think the complainants should be blaming IS for restricting their "viewing pleasure" but should rather look at the administrators controlling Internet access. Perhaps they ought to go up to the boss to ask what the problem is.
Figures were taken from www.webresponse.com and www.internetfilterreview.com.
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