As an avid MMO player and a fan of online games, I place internet access as a high priority in my household but even I’m shocked at the recent results of a survey based in London, England. Infosecurity Europe commissioned a street survey of 1000 Londoners asking them the question of internet importance, the results are surprising to say the least.
The survey was aimed at discovering what English people found to be more stressful. The results of the survey showed that more people would be stressed without internet access, than the loss of water, heating or washing utilities. Out of the 1000 people surveyed a whopping 38% said they would be most stressed without internet access while 32% said water was the highest priority, 18% said heating, 8% said the loss of TV would be more stressful and 4% said their washing machine was the highest priority.
A follow-up question was asked, asking how long people could survive without internet access. 27% said they couldn’t cope without the world wide web, 25% couldn’t last more than 24 hours and 29% said they would be in serious trouble if they lost access for more than 24 hours. Only 4% said they didn’t need the internet at all. This is a huge leap from a similar survey from 2012 where only 17% said they couldn’t survive without the internet, prompting a 10% increase in 2013.
Claire Sellick, Event Director for Infosecurity Europe said:
?It is not just at home that the Internet has become a ?must have? the same sentiment falls into the workplace too. When workers were asked what would cause them the most distress at work, a third of people citing this over and above their computer systems going down even worse than a really bad commute to work. Some conscientious workers,13% said that simply being late caused them to ?flip out?, whilst a thirsty few (8%) said that no tea or coffee would ruin their day more than anything else and for a small proportion the lowly office printer/photo copier was the item likely to create the most stress.?
Sellick continued:
“Having Internet connection is part and parcel of our everyday lives becoming more important than even heat and water at home, which does seem phenomenal but shows just how dependent we on the Internet. Considering that so much information now passes over the Internet both in our private and corporate lives, now more than ever it?s important to consider how you access this information and how you go about protecting your most sensitive data.?
I would hate to see these results if the survey was aimed at a more MMO game friendly demographic. Could you survive without the internet? Or maybe you’re sensible and water would be a higher priority?