Redwood City (CA) - The cliched phrase "Honey, I'm home" may now actually be addressing the household computer, as a new survey by Kelton Research shows that the majority of Americans spend more time with their computer than they do with their significant other.

The study, which took a representative sample of 1001 adults, showed that 65% of the people polled said their "significant other" was receiving less attention than their computer, as part of an underlying trend of Americans' increasing devotion to and relationship with technology.

The results also showed that about 84% of Americans are more dependent on their computer today than they were three years ago. Additionally, the survey looked at problems most Americans face with computers. The average American spends 12 hours per month dealing with and trying to fix computer problems.

"As computers become increasingly pervasive in our lives, our relationships with them can begin to seem almost as important as a relationship with a significant other. When problems then occur with the computer, it often leaves people feeling frustrated or helpless," said tele-therapist Dr. Robi Ludwig in a press release by support.com, which commissioned the survey.

Computer addiction is a recently new field of study for psychology and has even sparked new detox facilities in other countries, like China. Others are more skeptical about the problem. In a 2005 Stanford report on Internet addiction, one researcher noted, "The Internet is an environment. You can't be addicted to the environment."

Source : Tom's Hardware US