One in Three Give up Friends, Money for the Web

Remember that report on Reuters that found one in three people wouldn't give up their cell phone for a million dollars? Turns out young Britons would rather give up their other addictions than to live without a cell phone. I asked our Yahoo! readers if they would ever consider giving up their mobile phone, and the answer was a resounding yes!

Today, another survey appeared on Reuters that says one in three Americans are giving up friends and sex for the Web. Oh, boy. Of the 1,011 Americans surveyed earlier this month, 48 percent said they'd felt something important was missing without Internet access. Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT said people felt anxious, isolated and bored when they're forced off line. I'm actually surprised the number of people that felt this way wasn't higher.

About 20 percent of respondents admitted to spending less time having sex because of the amount of time they spend online, while only 28 percent of them spend less time socializing face-to-face. What they forgot to ask is how many of them spend more time cybersexing and socializing online, than offline. I'm sure those numbers would be pretty high considering how much time people spend on social networks. Overall, the survey found the Web was the most necessary tool of all compared to cell phones or television. This is one addiction people aren't willing to give up that easy. So my question to you is, how long can you go without being online?

Americans giving up friends, sex for Web life [Reuters]
Cellphones: More Addicting than Sex or Money
Are You an Internet Addict?