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Cell phones and the internet are becoming more and more an essential part of our daily lives. So essential, in fact, that the majority of 1,011 people when asked how long they would feel OK without online access, 15% of respondents said just a day or less. 21% said a couple of days and another 19% said a few days. Only a fifth more said they could go for a week. Men were more likely to say they could not go without the internet with 59% choosing one of the three options above; vs. 50% of women.
Response did not vary significantly among age groups. Similarly 48% of respondents agreed that, "If I cannot access the Internet when I want to, I feel like something important is missing."
Some other trends discovered in the survey results:
* More than a quarter of respondents (28%) admit they spend less time socializing face-to-face with peers because of the amount of time spent online or otherwise occupied with their gadgets-a full 20% said they're spending less time having sex.
* Cell phones win out over television in a question asking which device people couldn't go without. The internet, however, trumps all and is regarded as the most necessary.
* Almost three-quarters agree that they now shop differently, and two-fifths say more of their spending is moving online: 73% agree that "The Internet has changed the way I shop." 42% overall and 45% of under-35s agree that "My spending is moving more and more from offline to online."
Teens and baby boomers are side by side in cyberspace - nearly half of those surveyed over 55 years old say that they live at least some of their life online. The same percentage of those under 35 agree. However, what's dividing the generations is where, not how often.
Other findings from the survey:
* "Digital" is an essential component of life for a majority of respondents: Almost equal percentages of men and women (60% vs. 58%) agree that "Digital technology is an essential part of how I live." Agreement declines with age, from 66% of the youngest cohort down to 57% of the middle cohort and 49% of the oldest.
Mobile Phones
* Specifically, the cell phone is essential to a significant minority of younger people: Overall, 31% agree that "My cell phone is an extension of me," with women slightly more likely to agree (31% vs. 29% of men). Agreement declines steeply through the age cohorts, from 43% down to 26% and 14%.
Digital Cameras
* Women are slightly more likely to own a digital camera: Two-thirds of men say they own a standalone digital camera (that is, a camera not built into a cell phone), compared with almost three-quarters of women (74%).
Gaming Consoles
* Notably, women are slightly more likely to own a gaming console: As many as 44% of women say they own a gaming console such as Wii, Xbox or PlayStation, compared with 39% of men. Not surprisingly, the under-35 cohort is significantly more likely to own a gaming console: 59% vs. 40% of the middle cohort and 11% of the over-55s.
MP3-like Players
* About a third own personal audio players: Overall, 34% own an iPod or other personal audio player, with men slightly more likely than women to own one (36% vs. 33%). The youngest cohort is more than twice as likely as the oldest cohort to own a personal audio player: 49% vs. 30% of the middle cohort and 15% of the over-55s.
WiFi
* Men and under-35s are most likely to use WiFi networking at home: A quarter of respondents said they have WiFi at home, 30% of men and 22% of women. Almost a third (32%) of the under-35s use WiFi at home compared with 23% of the middle cohort and 19% of the 55-plus respondents.
PVR's
* Personal video recorders lag among the oldest cohort: About a quarter of respondents (24%) use TiVo or similar devices; the gender difference is negligible (24% of men vs. 23% of women). Again, usage skews younger, dropping from 27% to 24% to 16%.
Search
* Basic search is most popular: Sites like Google and Yahoo are the most frequently accessed, with a mean of 8.8 on a scale where 10 equals "all the time" and 1 equals "almost never"; usage is slightly higher among women than men (8.9 vs. 8.5).
E-Mail
* E-mail is close behind: E-mail based on one's computer scores a mean of 8.4, with usage slightly higher among women (8.5 vs. 8.3). With a mean of 6.7, online e-mail such as Hotmail or Gmail is next down the frequency scale by some margin; usage remains slightly higher among women (6.8 vs. 6.5). The younger age cohorts are more likely to use Web-based e-mail services: the under-35 set scores a mean of 7.7 vs. 6.3 for the middle cohort and 5.5 for the 55-plus group. Accordingly, computer-based e-mail usage rises among the age cohorts, from 7.5 to 8.9 to 9.2.
Social Networking
* Social networking sites score well behind a range of other sites: Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites score a mean of 4.4, behind seven other categories of sites, including branded all-in-one-place home pages like MyYahoo or iGoogle (6.2), personal-interest specialty sites/communities (e.g., sports, music, photography, technology) (5.8) and online newspapers/magazines (5.8). |
