Cisco Survey: Internet is a Necessity, Just Like Water, Food, Air, and Shelter
Cisco Survey: Internet is a Necessity, Just Like Water, Food, Air, and Shelter
Posted 09/26/2011 at 8:07am
| by Paul Lilly
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Just how vital has the Internet become to everyday life? For some, it's just as important as any of the basic needs, including water, food, air, and shelter. And for others, the Internet doesn't rank as an absolute necessity like any of those things, but it comes awfully close, according to an online survey of nearly 3,000 adults.
Cisco pinged 1,441 college students ranging in age from 18-24 years old, and 1,412 full-time, non-IT employees between the ages of 21-29 years to find out where the Internet fits in with their lives. Turns out it plays a really big role. More than half of the college sample said they couldn't live without the Internet, as it is an integral part of their daily lives, a viewpoint shared by more than 60 percent of those working non-IT jobs.
Nearly a third (32 percent) of college students polled said the Internet is just as important to them as water, food, air, and shelter, with another 49 percent indicating that basic needs take precedence, but that the Internet is nearly as important. Those sentiments were echoed in the workforce with nearly identical numbers. Needless to say, the Internet also ranked higher than social activities, except in France, the only country where college students would rather go out on dates than use the Internet.
You can read the full report here (PDF).
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Holly Golightly
September 26, 2011 at 3:07pm
Ugh, I hate the fact I am always on the internet. I am always here. I miss the times when I used to go to my nieghbor's home and just have real fun. Now they too, are on the internet. The world feels a bit anti-social because of the internet. The slightest moment I am bored, I am on the internet. I hardly get a desire to play a videogame, or read a book. So, with that said, I would love it if I was forced not to have the internet... Because if I were given a choice, I would zombie right back to it. I can totally survive without the internet... And would love to stop using the internet all together. But man. It is tough. A bad habit. I would say, much worst than smoking and drinking combined.
TechLarry
September 26, 2011 at 1:55pm
The Internet has become a necessity in the way that other utilities are a necessity. Gas, Electricity, water, etc...
We are far away from the days where Internet Access was a hobby, nicity, or just a cool thing to have. Hell, you can't even communicate with some companies without the internet these days.
IMHO, Internet Access has become a critical Utility and should be reguilated like all other Utilities.
bloodgain
September 26, 2011 at 9:30am
Let's see... Without water, food, or air, I die. Without shelter, life becomes very difficult, and in certain conditions might lead to my demise. These things are necessary to my life, with shelter at least necessary to civilization.
Without the Internet, I am very sad, more disconnected, and unable to obtain large quantities of information very quickly. Of course, the world runs off of the Internet now, so if it suddenly disappeared, there would be a big hiccup in supply chains. However, had it never existed, life would still continue. The same is not true of the others.
Thus, the Internet is extremely important to the world in which we live in today, and one must depend on it to succeed in any real sense. It should be considered a basic human right for modern times. However, it is not a necessity, as we could easily survive in its absense (and did for a very, very long time before its invention).
Ashton2091
September 26, 2011 at 10:49am
Well said. Heck, even most employment applications are online. Which makes it harder to find a job, if you don't have the internet. But, as you said, had it never been invented, we would simply go back to paper applications. There would be a hiccup...but all would be fine in the end.
NobleGoldKnight
September 26, 2011 at 9:23am
Seriously? Perhaps I am just old fashioned but I was raised where things like food, water and toilet was more important than internet. I am shocked! Well, maybe not that shocked. But still pretty shocked,
d3v
September 26, 2011 at 9:58am
You would be even more shocked if I told you that someone tried to have it declared as a basic human right at the United Nations!
http://www.osnews.com/story/24821
Oh the insanity!
dakishimesan
September 26, 2011 at 5:47pm
It's not a human right to use it to screw around. it is a human right as a sourceof connectedness and information. taking it away from only one group would be like burning all the books and banning free speech 50 yrs ago.
HiGHRoLLeR038
September 26, 2011 at 9:12am
honestly i feel like the numbers should be higher. people dont realize how often the depend on the internet for many things. people taking this survey probably didnt think too hard on this question
LatiosXT
September 26, 2011 at 8:12am
I actually find this sad. Very sad. I'm going to rue the day when I have kids and I can't go anywhere on vacation because they "need" the internet. I'm about as much as an internet denizen as anyone else but damn, I can at least go without it for a while if needed.
compro01
September 26, 2011 at 10:20am
You can go without food for a while if needed.
You can go without water for a while if needed
You can go without air for a while if needed.
It's merely a matter of the length of time.
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