If You Had to Choose: Computer or Spouse?

A new study finds 65 percent of Americans spend more time with their computer than their spouse - and, on average, wastes 12 hours a month fixing computer problems.

If you asked most Americans in a committed relationship which they preferred—their partner or their computer—most would probably answer truthfully (or at least politely) that, of course, their spouse, partner, or significant other is much more important to them.

But in the real world, people vote with their feet, and a new study conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of SupportSoft finds that 65 percent of Americans spend more time with their computer than with their spouse or significant other.

The Kelton Research study also finds that 84 percent of Americans say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were three years ago. Moreover, in the same period, the average computer user experienced significant computer problems eight times—roughly once every four months. And many of those Americans felt hurt and jilted by their computers: 52 percent of Americans describe their most recent experience of a computer problem as one of anger, sadness, or alienation.

And if Americans perhaps think being dragged to a shoe sale—or made to sit through seemingly unending hours of football—is an inane waste of their time in a relationship, consider this: the average American reports wasting 12 hours a month due to problems with their computer.

“As computers become increasingly pervasive in our lives, our relationships with them can begin to seem almost as important as a relationship with a significant other. When problems then occur with the computer, it often leaves people feeling frustrated or helpless,” says Dr. Robi Ludwig, renowned psychotherapist and host of the reality series One Week to Save a Marriage on cable channel TLC.

You can see where this is going: SupportSoft wants Americans to know that if their computers aren’t there for them, then the brand new support.com is there for their computer.

[Coming up next: Dr. Phil helps a man and his Dell get back onto solid footing. And this week on Springer: Computers who say they're still sexy—even in an old beige box!]