• On TechRepublic: 10 lame phrases to cut from your resume
December 15, 2008 9:14 AM PST

Internet or sex, which would you choose?

by Dawn Kawamoto
  • Font size
  • Print
  • Post a comment

Just how reliant are you on the Internet?

Nearly half of the women questioned by Harris Interactive said they'd be willing to forgo sex for two weeks, rather than give up their Internet access, according to a study released Monday by Intel, which commissioned the survey.

Sex v. Internet (Credit: CNET Networks)

While 46 percent of the women surveyed were willing to engage in abstinence verses losing their Internet, only 30 percent of the men surveyed were willing to do likewise.

The U.S. survey, which queried 2,119 adults last month, found that the gap grew even wider for both men and woman who were 18 to 34 years old. For woman, the percentage of those willing to skip the sheets in favor of the Web rose to 49 percent, while it climbed to 39 percent for men.

News.com Poll

Internet or sex?
If you had to give up either sex or the Web for a year, which would it be?

No sex for a year
No Internet access for a year
Could live without both for a year
No sacrifices, no way



View results

And for women 35 to 44 years old, the figure jumped to 52 percent.

(Our poll, right, lets you weigh in on the issue, although we've upped the time-frame from two weeks to one year, just for kicks.)

These figures were just some of the tidbits that came out of the Intel's broader commissioned study on Americans' reliance on the Internet in today's economy.

Though not as sexy but equally interesting, the survey also found that 87 percent of respondents said the Internet saves them money.

Specifically, 84 percent of those surveyed found the Internet saved them money by comparing prices online and searching out the best deals, while 65 percent said it aided them in finding coupons, discounts, and special promotions.

And TV, which has been losing its share of eyeball time to the Internet over the years, found that the majority of adults would be willing to go two weeks of watching TV, verses losing one week on the Internet.

Of course when it comes to TV, perhaps size matters, at least according to a different survey earlier this year of Britons conducted by electronics retailer Comet. Almost half of the men polled said they would give up sex for six months in return for a 50-inch plasma TV, according to Reuters. That compared with just over a third of women who were willing to make the same sacrifice for the big-screen television.

Originally posted at Gaming and Culture
Dawn Kawamoto covers enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News. E-mail Dawn.
Recent posts from Geek Gestalt
Video game sales fall off a ledge in October
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 said to break sales records
Report: Microsoft's Project Natal pricing details
Craigslist brimming with banned, 'modded' Xboxes
Report: Microsoft bans 1 million Xbox Live players
Singularity University seasons executives for the future
Music industry bows to point-and-shoot cameras
Q&A: Bringing back Mickey Mouse's dark side
advertisement

A CNET Conversation with Eric Schmidt

CNET's Tom Krazit and Molly Wood sit down with Google CEO Eric Schmidt to discuss the future of Android, the Chrome OS, the problem of real-time search indexing, and more.

Verizon tests sending RIAA copyright notices

The No. 2 phone company, known for its reluctance to intervene in antipiracy cases, strikes an agreement to forward copyright notices on behalf of the music industry.

About Geek Gestalt

Daniel Terdiman, uniquely positioned to take you into the middle of another side of technology, chronicles his explorations of the "fun beat," from cultural phenomena such as Burning Man to cutting-edge aircraft to game conventions.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Geek Gestalt topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right