New survey reveals Wi-Fi tops from list of chocolate, booze, sex and internet

Wi-Fi had been identified as the most important daily need with 4 out of 10 persons regarding it more important than other human luxuries and necessities like sex, chocolate and alcohol, according to a new study.

For the study, Wi-Fi connectivity provider iPass, surveyed 1,700 working professionals across Europe and the US about their connectivity habits. Participants were asked to rank the importance of Wi-Fi against other "human luxuries and necessities" on a scale of 1-4, with one being most important and 4 bring least important, PTI reported.

Wi-Fi received the most important billing by 40.2 per cent of respondents, followed by sex (36.6 per cent), chocolate (14.3 per cent) and alcohol, which was ranked as the number one daily essential by 8.9 per cent of respondents, International Business Times reported.

"Wi-Fi is not only the most popular method of internet connectivity, it has surpassed many other human luxuries and necessities," said Pat Hume chief commercial officer at iPass.

"The idea that Wi-Fi would be considered more important than sex, alcohol and chocolate would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. For some time now, the internet has appeared on the bottom line of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, almost as a longstanding joke in geek culture. Recently, the idea has gone mainstream."

''Mobile professionals, in particular, expect to remain connected at all times, whether at home, travelling between client meetings, at their hotel or even inflight,'' Hume added, IANS reported.

The respondents of the survey were drawn from North America (60 per cent ) while Europe accounted for the rest.

''The Wi-Fi experience is increasingly affecting mobile professionals' travel choices, even at 30,000 feet, with more than a third of respondents having selected their airline based on its Wi-Fi connectivity offerings,'' Hume pointed out.