The growing popularity of the Internet and America’s obsession with it just became more revealing after a survey and study was released by JWT. JWT is currently the United States largest advertising company. It was revealed in this study that about 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. are dropping some of their friends to quench their desires for the online experience.

The survey also explored what direct interests people have on the Internet and how long they might actually give up access. A total of 1,011 U.S. Adults were surveyed using JWT’s proprietary SONAR panel given between September 7th and September 11th, 2007. Participants were asked questions like how long they would feel “ok” without going on the Web. Out of the entire sample 15% said they could handle being disconnected for a day or less, 21% said they could handle a couple of days and 19% simply stated they could swing being disconnected for only a few days. The rest of the bunch that amounted to about a fifth of the entire survey pool said they could probably make it for about a week.

JWT’s director of trend spotting summed up respondents feelings in this statement where she said, “People told us how anxious, isolated and bored they felt when they are forced offline.” Ann Mack also ironically stated that when participants explained how they felt without the Internet they all seemed to, “feel disconnected from the world, from their friends and family.” It seems this is an ironic twist considering 1 in 3 U.S. participants admitted to dropping real life friends to have more time on the Internet.

Another gleaming social trend was the admission from people in the survey that they admitted to spending less time actually communicating with friends, family and co-workers because of the time they typically spend on the Internet. The exact percentage admitting to this claim tallies up to 28 percent or about 1/4 the of the total participants.

One of the most shocking trends was that for one of the first times something has quickly taken the place of one of American’s favorite past-times, sex! In fact a group of about 20 percent of the surveyed people admitted they have sex less because they use that time for being online. If the spouses of these individuals knew the honest side of the situation there might be more marriage troubles than we currently see developing.

Besides revealing America’s fleeting sex lives due to Internet access the survey also revealed just how attached American’s are to their mobile devices. Whether it was a Blackberry, iPhone or featureless cell phone 48 percent of participants were certain they felt something was missing without that extra connection to the Internet. Besides just feeling they were missing out on something without their cell phone the survey revealed American’s were willing to have their cell phones over a TV but the Internet still found it’s way to the top of the list. The JWT director of trend spotting put the desire for Internet in this light, “It is taking away from offline activities, among them having sex, socializing face-to-face, watching TV and reading newspapers and magazines. It cuts into that share.” We in agreement with Ann Mack’s next statement that she, “doesn’t suppose their partners are too pleased about it.”

Besides America’s lustful affair with Internet entertainment and access JWT made clear a new rising trend in the industry. Internet access took off with the advent of broadband access and broadband subscribers rates are still rising, however, mobile use is becoming more important to society. Among the younger survey participants it was clear that they are not just happy with broadband at home. The younger participants are constantly on the lookout for hi-speed WIFI and way to connect to the Internet outside of their home. Whether it is through their Blackberry, iPhone or Internet cafe’s the rush is on. Out of all of the respondents in the younger category 31% agreed that, “My cell phone is an extension of me.”

More information about the JWT study can be found at our reference links. The entire study was completed with a survey pool of 1,011 Americans 18 years and older from September 7th - 9th. The margin of error in the study was +/- 2.6 percentage points. The distribution of survey samples are as follows:

Male: 41.7% (422)
Female: 58.3% (589)

Ages:
18-24: 12.4% (125)
25-29: 12.4% (125)
30-34: 12.8% (129)
35-39: 10.8% (109)
40-44: 11.8% (119)
45-49: 11.5% (116)
50-54: 10.4% (105)
55-59: 8.6% (87)
60-64: 5% (51)
65 or older: 4.5% (45)

Sources: JWT Press Release, Marketing Charts, Reuters

We’re taking a closer look at this trend here at the Business Shrink. Do you know someone that you think has too big of an obsession with the Internet? Do you see this effecting the workplace or friend or co-workers lives at home? We’d love to hear from you.