Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/09/10/epotatoes_shout_at_the_internet/

ePotatoes shout at the Internet

Stress kills

By Tim Richardson

Posted in On-Prem, 10th September 1999 13:40 GMT

Half of all office workers in Britain have sky-high blood pressure and a tendency to go off the rails and shout a lot when they use the Internet. That's the conclusion of Web company InfoLibria which discovered that workers suffered cyberstress as a result of delays in downloading vital information from the Net. Symptoms of this latest workplace scourge include anger, frustration, anxiety and "white-knuckle impatience", all of which can have serious long-term health implications. "In an abundance society the greatest scarcity is that of time," said psychologist Dr David Lewis, author of the study. "Even a few minutes waiting for information to download, especially when working against a deadline, can cause the blood pressure to rise and pulses to soar. "Both responses that can lead to long term health problems if cyberstress becomes chronic in the workplace," he said. Of course, anyone who feels it's getting all too much could always blast their PC with a Klingon Disrupter and say "to hell with it all, I'm of down the boozer". Well, it is Friday, after all... ®