mouse potato
someone who spends a lot of time on a computer
TRANSLATION
mouse potato = ein Stubenhocker, der seine Freizeit vor dem PC verbringt --- GOOGLE INDEX mouse potato: approximately 200,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The age of the MOUSE POTATO
(Madison County Journal, Georgia USA)
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Kris Carde, 18, a freshman majoring in computer engineering at the University of California at Davis, also used the information highway to research colleges. A veteran hacker, MOUSE POTATO and programmer, Mr. Carde launched a full-scale investigation of colleges he was interested in.
(New York Times)
(Madison County Journal, Georgia USA)
---
Kris Carde, 18, a freshman majoring in computer engineering at the University of California at Davis, also used the information highway to research colleges. A veteran hacker, MOUSE POTATO and programmer, Mr. Carde launched a full-scale investigation of colleges he was interested in.
(New York Times)
Did you
know?
mouse potato
noun phrase, slang
- a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
---
Before the invention of the PC and the evolution of the Internet, in modern societies the television was the center of entertainment in many homes. In the 60s, the British had the choice between the BBC and ITV. Americans were luckier; they had 3 channels to choose from: CBS, NBC, ABC.
With the advent of cable and satellite television, the number of channels grew dramatically over the next few decades, giving viewers a wide range of programs. This meant more and more people were spending increasing hours glued to the "boob tube." This led cartoonist Robert Armstrong in 1970 to come up with the term "couch potato." The image is of a vegetable sitting or lying on the couch constantly watching television.
Fast-forwarding to the new millennium, the PC and the Internet are rapidly competing for our attention, creating the online generation's answer to the couch potato: the mouse potato. This is someone who spends an inordinate amount of time in front of the PC surfing, chatting, Facebooking, downloading, watching videos and listening to music. Writer Alice Kahn is alleged to have coined the term in 1993. The New Oxford Dictionary Of English added mouse potato as an entry in 1998.
Which country has the most serious mouse potatoes? A 2012 report by research company comScore surprisingly found that Canadians are at the top of the list. In 2011 they spent an average of around 45 hours per quarter on the Internet, more than the United States (38.6 hours), the UK (35.4) and South Korea (30 hours). The report also pointed out that Italians’ Internet usage dropped to 18 hours from 27.7 hours from the prior year. After all, given the choice, who wouldn't rather sip a cappuccino in the Piazza San Marco with friends than sit at home with a bag of potato chips in front of the PC?
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"How many mouse potatoes do you know?"
noun phrase, slang
- a person who spends a great deal of time using a computer
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
---
Before the invention of the PC and the evolution of the Internet, in modern societies the television was the center of entertainment in many homes. In the 60s, the British had the choice between the BBC and ITV. Americans were luckier; they had 3 channels to choose from: CBS, NBC, ABC.
With the advent of cable and satellite television, the number of channels grew dramatically over the next few decades, giving viewers a wide range of programs. This meant more and more people were spending increasing hours glued to the "boob tube." This led cartoonist Robert Armstrong in 1970 to come up with the term "couch potato." The image is of a vegetable sitting or lying on the couch constantly watching television.
Fast-forwarding to the new millennium, the PC and the Internet are rapidly competing for our attention, creating the online generation's answer to the couch potato: the mouse potato. This is someone who spends an inordinate amount of time in front of the PC surfing, chatting, Facebooking, downloading, watching videos and listening to music. Writer Alice Kahn is alleged to have coined the term in 1993. The New Oxford Dictionary Of English added mouse potato as an entry in 1998.
Which country has the most serious mouse potatoes? A 2012 report by research company comScore surprisingly found that Canadians are at the top of the list. In 2011 they spent an average of around 45 hours per quarter on the Internet, more than the United States (38.6 hours), the UK (35.4) and South Korea (30 hours). The report also pointed out that Italians’ Internet usage dropped to 18 hours from 27.7 hours from the prior year. After all, given the choice, who wouldn't rather sip a cappuccino in the Piazza San Marco with friends than sit at home with a bag of potato chips in front of the PC?
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"How many mouse potatoes do you know?"
