A recent survey conducted by advertising agency JWT (unit of WPP) found that above all activities, the Internet is the one most important necessity to their lives. Cell phones came in second as the most desired activity.
For the Internet it was found that 15 percent couldn't go without it for even a day; 21 percent said they could maybe for a couple days; and 19 percent said for a few days. Only 20 percent could go without using the Internet for go without the Internet for a week.
Almost 50 percent of respondents said they felt like something was missing from their lives if they didn't have Internet access.
Ann Mack, director of trend spotting at JWT, said the study shows that the Internet is taking away from a lot of other activities.
"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," said Mack.
Mack added another clear trend which was confirmed by the study was the growing demand by consumers for using mobile devices as part of their Internet access - beyond home Internet access alone.
All this confirms what we've talked about here at thealphamarketer, that this was going to happen soon. In the recent past, the Internet hadn't cut into the time of users as much as it is now. As a result, studies were showing it was being added to activity, rather than taking away from others. Those days are past.
It was only a matter of time before this happened, as something has to give by the shear "limitation of time" for consumers. This confirms the continuing bright prospects for online marketers in the future. I don't think we'll see any changes in this reality for some time to come.
I think it's possible sometime in the future, that Internet fatigue could set in, and we may face some decline, but that should be a long way off. For now increasing Internet usage is something we can count on in making decisions.
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