And before that it was TV. And before that newspapers.

This is breathless polemic.

The ability for a computer to keep your attention for very long periods of time is an order of magnitude greater than the time you would purposely spend on TV or Newspapers. I can usually stomach 2 to 3 hours tops on TV even with Netflix, Prime and loads of Freeview channels. On the other hand, if I had the time, I could easily spend 12+ hours playing a computer game.

As for Newspapers, how long would you really spend reading them on any given day?

	▲	iamnothere 28 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		“The computer” is a multipurpose tool that sweeps in multiple activities. The newspaper? On the computer now. TV? On the computer. (YouTube feels much more like old TV than streaming services, to me.) Games? Computer. Work? Computer. Shopping? Computer. Keeping up with distant family and friends? Computer. Banking and bills? Computer. Investing? Believe it or not, computer. This has its downsides—it can be harder to consciously allocate time—but it also allows you to be more flexible with the ever-decreasing square footage per person allotted in the modern world. Usage should really be broken down by activity, not lumped under “computer time”.