Study: Wi-Fi More Important than Coffee and TV

Posted 09/21/2010 at 5:55am | by Paul Lilly

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Screw the coffee and other caffeinated beverages, give us our Wi-Fi! That's the general theme behind a new study conducted by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which pinged 1,000 young adults (or millennials) ages 17 to 29 in the U.S., and another 400 in China just for good measure.

Three-fourths of the respondents living in the U.S. said that going a week without Wi-Fi would put them in a worse mood than going a week without coffee or tea. That number jumps to 87 percent in China. And over half of respondents (58 percent in the U.S., 56 percent in China) pegged Wi-Fi as being a necessity versus just helpful.

Some other interesting poll results:

• Two-thirds of respondents in the U.S. reported they spend more time on Wi-Fi than watching television
• 64 percent of U.S. respondents claimed it would be impossible to maintain relationships with many friends without Wi-Fi, while 44 percent said the same about family
• 84 percent of respondents in the U.S. said they are more likely to carry a handheld digital device than a watch

"These polling results are a strong reflection of both the social and technological orientation of young adults around the world today," commented Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates. "Interactive digital devices are fundamental to how millennials spend their time and connect with family and friends, and have become more important than older, more passive forms of entertainment like television.

How important is Wi-Fi in your daily routine? Do you rank Wi-Fi access as a higher want or need than coffee or TV?