Depressed People Spend More Time Chatting Online

"As it turns out, depressed people use the internet differently than others, spending more time chatting online and file-sharing, for example, according to a new study published. The study, which followed 216 college students, monitored actual Internet use and correlated certain patterns with higher scores on depression surveys."

E-books Spur Reading Among Americans, Survey Shows

"E-books aren't just becoming increasingly popular. They also appear to be promoting reading habits among American adults. So says new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, which states that about one-fifth of U.S. adults have read an e-book in the past year."

1.1 Billion Smart Connected Devices To Ship This Year

"More than 916 million smart connected devices--including PCs, smart phones, tablets, and other similar devices--shipped worldwide last year. And, according to a new report, that number could double in the next five years. Expenditures on these devices exceeded $489 billion."

Internet Accounts for 4.7% of U.S. Economy

"The Internet accounted for $684 billion, or 4.7% of all U.S. economic activity in 2010, Boston Consulting Group found. By way of comparison, the federal government, contributed $625 billion, or 4.3%, to the nation's output."

Half of U.S.Households Own at Least One Apple Product

"Just over half of all households in the country own at least one Apple product, a new survey says, showing just how far the reach of the company has come in the last decade."

'Hacktivists' Stole 58% of Thieved Data in 2011

"Verizon's (VZ, Fortune 500) annual Data Breach Investigations Report, released Thursday, found that hacktivist groups were responsible for 58% of all data stolen last year. The telecom giant compiled data breach information from its customers and from law enforcement agencies in five countries."

Americans Now Watch More Online Movies Than DVDs

"U.S. movie buffs will pay to watch more movies online in 2012 than they will on physical video formats like DVD. That historic first marks a tipping point for Hollywood -- and its business model."

Texting is Ultimate Social Tool for Teens, Study Says

"Mobile devices often get accused of alienating people from the world around them. But for U.S. teens, cell phones (especially text messaging) are a key way to stay connected with friends and other people in their lives, according to new research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project."

Study: People With Lots of Facebook Friends More Likely to be Narcissists

"Research from Western Illinois University showed a link between the number of Facebook friends you have and how active you are on the site to the likelihood of being a "socially disruptive" narcissist."

Encyclopedia Britannica to Stop Printing Books

"After 244 years, Encyclopedia Britannica will cease production of its iconic multi-volume book sets."

Survey: Most U.S. Cell Phone Owners Have Smartphones

"As of February, more U.S. adults own smartphones than simpler feature phones, according to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project."

FBI Director: Cybercrime Will Eclipse Terrorism

"Cybercriminals are becoming a threat that rivals terrorist groups like al Qaeda, according to the nation's top law enforcement official."

Twitter to Sell Users' Old Tweets to Marketers

"Starting next month, DataSift will launch a cloud-based service that will allow other companies to analyze these two-plus years of tweets to learn more about their customers."

Google: Technology is Making Science Fiction a Reality

"Schmidt said the introduction of books available online, Internet translation of languages and voice recognition for computers all happened much faster than anyone envisioned and that technological research into even more previously unheard of advances is progressing at a fast clip."

Study: We're Getting Less Friendly on Facebook

"Whether it's pruning friends lists, removing unwanted comments or restricting access to their profiles, Americans are getting more privacy-savvy on social networks, a new report found."

Report: Facebook, Google Overtake Yahoo In Display Ad Market Share

"Yahoo’s once dominant position with display advertising is now officially over. Research firm eMarketer released figures Wednesday showing that both Facebook and Google surpassed Yahoo last year in display-ad revenue, with $1.73 billion and $1.71 billion, respectively."

Facebook Profiles Predict Job Success

". . .the findings of a new study by a trio of universities that looked at how Facebook profiles predict job success."

Nielsen: SmartPhone Ownership by Age and Income

This information is based on a Nielsen survey in January of 20,000 Americans who own a smartphone.

Google's iPhone Tracking

"The web giant and other ad companies bypassed privacy settings in Apple's Safari browser on mobile devices and computers – tracking the online habits of people who intended for that kind of monitoring to be blocked."

Internet Cupids Often Miss their Mark

"Combing dating websites for that perfect love match can be very frustrating, and a group of U.S. psychology professors released a report on Monday explaining why there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face."

Could Twitter Predict the Stock Market?

"Usage of social media like Twitter has exploded in recent years, giving analysts a real-time reflection of popular sentiment. As a result, MarketPsych serves up reams of data to hedge funds (which swear Peterson to secrecy) and research firms like Titan Trading Analytics. Peterson even plans to roll out a hedge fund of his own."

Study: Cellphones Make Users Selfish

"A U.S. study found that cellphone use is linked to selfish behavior and may make users less socially minded, researchers said."

Study: Wikipedia Trustworthy Health Source

"Australian researchers say a study shows Wikipedia is the most highly rated Web site for accessing information on mental-health related topics."

Study: Computers Can 'Evolve' for Defense

"U.S. researchers say findings from genetics research are inspiring them in their search for ways to combat increasing number of global cyberattacks."

The 6 Technologies That Will Shape Higher Education

"Game-based learning, learning analytics, and the "Internet of Things" are three of six technologies that will have a profound impact on higher education in the next one to five years, according to the latest NMC Horizon Report released by the New Media Consortium and the Educause Learning Initiative."

Catholic Leaders to Use Internet Against Pedophiles

"Roman Catholic Church leaders unveiled an Internet teaching project on Thursday to help clergy around the world root out pedophiles in their ranks and protect children from potential abusers."

Studies: Facebook Can Hurt Self-Esteem

"According to three new studies, Facebook can be tough on mental health, offering an all-too-alluring medium for social comparison and ill-advised status updates. And while adding a friend on the social networking site can make people feel cheery and connected, having a lot of friends is associated with feeling worse about one's own life."

Twitter is Harder to Resist Than Cigarettes and Alcohol, Study Finds

"Tweeting or checking emails may be harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, according to researchers who tried to measure how well people could resist their desires."

Consumers Ignore Most Apps on their Smartphones

"Of smartphone owners, 68% open only five or fewer apps at least once a week, finds a survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. Seventeen percent don't use any apps. About 42% of all U.S. adults have phones with apps, Pew estimates."

Prisoners Making Threats Via Facebook

"Violent criminals in British prisons have been using Facebook to taunt and threaten victims and their families from jail, officials allege."

Stanford Takes Online Schooling To The Next Academic Level

"Last year, Stanford University computer science professor Sebastian Thrun — also known as the fellow who helped build Google's self-driving car — got together with a small group of Stanford colleagues and they impulsively decided to open their classes to the world."

Study: Web Hinders Youth Social Skills

"Young girls who spend the most time multitasking between various digital devices, communicating online or watching video are the least likely to develop normal social tendencies, according to the survey of 3,461 American girls aged 8 to 12 who volunteered responses."

Tablet, e-Book Ownership Soaring, Study Finds

"A report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project set to be released today finds that 29 percent of Americans owned at least one tablet or e-reader as of the beginning of this month. That's up from 18 percent in December."

YouTube Hits 4 Billion Daily Video Views

"YouTube, Google Inc's video website, is streaming 4 billion online videos every day, a 25 percent increase in the past eight months, according to the company."

Phone, Tablet Users Spend More Time With Apps Than Web

"Phone and tablet owners used to spend most of their time surfing the Web. Now they're using apps, according to data from Flurry Analytics."

iPad a Solid Education Tool, Study Reports

"In a partnership with Apple, textbook publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt performed a pilot study using an iPad text for Algebra 1 courses, and found that 20% more students (78% compared to 59%) scored 'Proficient' or 'Advanced' in subject comprehension when using tablets rather than paper textbook counterparts."

Amazon Kindle Owners Are “Borrowing” Nearly 300,000 Electronic Books A Month

"According to the company, customers borrowed nearly 300,000 (295,000 to be exact) KDP Select titles in December alone, and KDP Select has helped grow the total library selection."

Political Ads Go Digital and Social

"Republican presidential candidates are turning to the Internet, spending million of dollars on political ads with Google, Facebook and Twitter, analysts say."

IBM Scientists Create Smallest Magnetic Memory Bit With 12 Atoms

"Today, to store a single bit — the most basic piece of information a computer understands –a disk drive needs one million atoms. Heinrich and his team have successfully shown that data can be stored in as few as 12 magnetic atoms. That’s 12 versus 1 million and it means a hundred times more information can be stored in the same space."

PC Losing Traction as Half of all Computing Devices Sold are Mobile

"The world of personal computing is changing as smaller, sleeker and more capable devices are replacing the bulky desktop towers and heavy laptops that formerly dominated. . ."

Brave New Work: The Office of Tomorrow

"Imagine a technology wonderland filled with cool toys like 3-D printers, hologram tables, and office windows that turn into media screens. The best part? It's your office, circa 2022."

The Top 10 Looming Computer Security Threats of 2012

"Cyber-security no longer means only protecting your computer from ne'er-do-wells. Hackers are cracking codes on all sorts of devices and getting sneaky about breaking into everything from cell phones to car systems."

5 Higher Ed Tech Trends for 2012

"As the new year begins, education technology experts look at what's ahead for learners and educators."

Some Countries Are More Social Than Others, Survey Finds

"In the big cities of India and China, it seems, people can't help being social. Nearly everyone who uses the Internet there is also active on social networks, according to a global survey by Forrester Research, and three out of four write blog posts or upload pictures and music."

Top 1% of Mobile Users Consume Half of World’s Bandwidth, and Gap Is Growing

"The world’s congested mobile airwaves are being divided in a lopsided manner, with 1 percent of consumers generating half of all traffic. The top 10 percent of users, meanwhile, are consuming 90 percent of wireless bandwidth."

Students of Online Schools Are Lagging

"The number of students in virtual schools run by educational management organizations rose sharply last year, according to a new report being published Friday, and far fewer of them are proving proficient on standardized tests compared with their peers in other privately managed charter schools and in traditional public schools."

Study: E-Textbooks Saved Many Students Only $1

"Despite the promise that digital textbooks can lead to huge cost savings for students, a new study at Daytona State College has found that many who tried e-textbooks saved only one dollar, compared with their counterparts who purchased traditional printed material."

Startups Aim to Bring Education Industry Into 21st Century

"For many educational institutions, financials have limited them in bringing technology into classrooms, but some argue the formality and rigidity of these places have created an uphill battle to integrate new technology. A handful of education technology startups are looking to change this. . ."

Digital Music Sales Top Physical Sales

"For the first time in history, digital music sales topped the physical sale of music. According to a Nielsen and Billboard report, digital music purchases accounted for 50.3% of music sales in 2011. Digital sales were up 8.4% from the previous year, while physical album sales declined 5%."

Profits and Questions at Online Charter Schools

"Agora is one of the largest in a portfolio of similar public schools across the country run by K12. Eight other for-profit companies also run online public elementary and high schools, enrolling a large chunk of the more than 200,000 full-time cyberpupils in the United States."

IBM's Top 5 Technology Predictions for the Next 5 Years

"Crystal-ball forecasts, fanciful or otherwise, are a staple of year-end conversations, but IBM, the computer-services giant, has a research arm that makes them as a matter of course. Every December, it puts out a '5 in 5' list -- five predictions for the next five years."