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Television addiction has evolved into computer gaming and internet addiction, creating the “potato mouse”. The term originated in 1993, with gamers spending hours in front of their monitors. Modern games and online activities keep users engaged, leading to addiction and sedentary lifestyles. This can lead to health problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Even young children show signs of addiction. A true potato mouse adjusts their lifestyle to fit their computer habits.
It all started with a sofa, a bag of chips and an endless supply of television. The phenomenon of television addiction has now spread to the computer gaming and Internet communities, creating a new sedentary human tuber known as the potato mouse. A potato mouse spends an inordinate amount of time in front of a computer monitor, often displaying the same lack of interest in the outside world as the original couch potato.
The term “mouse potato” is believed to have entered the popular vernacular in 1993, although the phenomenon itself was not completely unknown until that time. Some early computer enthusiasts, especially gamers, were already spending numerous hours a day in front of their monochrome monitors, only leaving their keyboards on long enough to eat or sleep.
Because a number of modern computer games are designed to keep the user engaged for a seemingly infinite amount of time, some users find themselves so addicted to the game that the idea of leaving the computer seems counterproductive. Others find themselves searching the internet extensively, participating in online chat rooms, or trying to keep up with email and other computer-based correspondence. All this in addition to maintaining one’s presence on the Internet through personal blogs, home pages and social networking sites.
With all of these alluring and time-consuming features of the internet and the computer world, it should come as no surprise that the number of mouse potatoes has grown exponentially in recent years. Even elementary school children as young as 5 have been known to show early signs of Internet addiction, and many will experience full-blown withdrawal symptoms whenever computer privileges are revoked.
The rat potato phenomenon has also become a medical problem, as a sedentary lifestyle can lead to obesity, which in turn can lead to any number of diseases and health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Chronic mouse potatoes often can’t get enough sleep between computer sessions and may also maintain an unhealthy diet of convenience foods and excessive amounts of caffeine and other stimulants.
Some computer enthusiasts may spend several hours a day in front of a monitor but not be considered rat potatoes by others. A true potato mouse often adjusts their personal lifestyle to fit their computer habits, not the other way around.
