Women are more interested in the Internet than they are in sex. In a study of more than 2,000 people in the USA researchers found that almost half of American women would rather give up sex than have to live without the Internet for two weeks.
Men, however, tended to opt for the sex. No surprises there, then. However, what’s worrying for those chaps is the fact that almost one in three women were prepared to do without sex for an entire year if it meant they could keep their Internet connection.
But the survey is not all that it seems – nice as the headlines might make it sound. These figures are averages, but when you take into account different age groups you find something we’ve all known for ages. Younger people tend to be more interested in sex. The younger women were less prepared to give up sex than the older women.
However, the study does reveal one interesting fact. That is the dependence we now have on this technology. Even though fewer younger women were prepared to give up sex, significant numbers still wanted the Internet rather than a partner.
The Internet is now deemed essential to two out of every three people in this survey. Indeed, how much of your life could you easily lead without the Internet? How would you do business, contact friends, find out cinema times, book a holiday and so on? Perhaps because the Internet has caught on so fast, we have somehow missed the fact that it is now an essential part of our daily life.
But this has important ramifications for your online business. Because the Internet is now so important to people – and many place its value more highly than sex – then if your business does not centralise its processes, services and staff online, you will miss out big time.
The bulk of your business audience now expects your company to do everything via the Internet. It’s simply no good any more just having an online brochure. Like those women who would rather be celibate, you need to focus your entire business online – not just see the Internet as a useful promotional vehicle. It’s moved on significantly and this survey shows us how far. If your business does not centralise itself around the online world now, well, it’s probably too late.
