According to a study of the World Internet Project, the typical Internet user--far from being a geek--shuns television and actively socializes with friends. News.com reports that:

the typical Internet user is an avid reader of books and spends more time engaged in social activities than the nonuser, it says. And, television viewing is down among some Internet users by as much as five hours per week compared with Net abstainers, the study added.

"Use of the Internet is reducing television viewing around the world while having little impact on positive aspects of social life," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, the California university that organized the project.

"Most Internet users generally trust the information they find online," he told Reuters via e-mail.