no one uses any chat programs at work. Downloading anything is a no-no.

Hm. I never really considered it before but we do have a fair amount of controls on our work computers with significant leeway on internet use. I feel surprised. I know we have abuses but it seems like a good balance for our small company -- email monitoring, no downloads allowed (blocked as an admin function), no chat, spyware scans. No in house IT. I guess they are walking the line OK for now which makes me get so visceral about any further controls. Maybe they don't feel employees respect that they should keep internet to a minimum anymore. Actually, the younger crowd like myself just uses it a lot more throughout the day while working at the same time. Could be a generation gap issue. I guess my point in these things is that businesses should consider why internet use is a problem first. I have been given more work recently and am very happy to do it (I was severely underutilized) and the people who (likely) assumed I was a no good lazy internet surfer are pretty surprised. Now, I feel less guilty on the job, too. I do want to work at work, I just kept getting brushed off when asking around for more to do. One can then fall into a pattern of passing the time however they can.