How important is the internet to you?
68% of those asked would give up alcohol before they surrendered their internet connection.
Women are more willing to go teetotal, it seems, with 75% ready to give up the booze compared to 61% of men.
In total, 65% would stay away from treat foods and 64% would stop exercising – and those aren’t the strangest things people are willing to sacrifice in order to keep their internet access.
More than a third (34%) would live without central heating and the same number would, somewhat bizarrely, rather lose a finger than the internet.
Almost half of those respondents in the north east would chop off a digit (47%) compared to just over a quarter (27%) of those from the West Midlands.
Around one in five people would apparently go without baths, showers or washing of any kind so they could stay online and an even higher number would stop seeing their friends and family in person.
According to the survey of 2,000 UK adults, people in the north east would be the most willing to stop washing, while respondents in Northern Ireland were more likely to stop seeing their friends and family.
The results clearly demonstrate the important role the internet plays in people’s lives, but would folk really go to these lengths to keep it?
Cable.co.uk’s Dan Howdle isn’t convinced: “Well, that’s easy to say, isn’t it? Clearly, some have not thought this properly through.
“For example, it’s easier to say you’d be okay with one less finger than it is to offer your hand to a chap with a hacksaw.
“And it’s easier to answer ‘I’d rather never wash again’ than it is to live day to day with a nickname like ‘Stinky Samantha’ or ‘Throw-up John’, or to be repeatedly ejected from public places.
“Nevertheless, what these results do show is that, for many, the internet is as essential as some of the most fundamental needs a human being has. Or at least, people think it is.”
