The US takes its Internet love affair to another level

Dedication to the cause may take somewhat of a hit today for those people tirelessly searching for Mister or Miss Right in the hope of finding everlasting true love. According to a (rather worrying) new survey conducted by Zogby International and 463 Communications has revealed that one in four U.S. residents could well replace their partner with the Internet. New survey reveals that one in four U.S. residents would temporarily replace love with the Internet. Credit: FreeFoto.

New survey reveals that one in four U.S. residents would temporarily replace love with the Internet. Credit: FreeFoto.More specifically, the poll revealed that some 24 percent of Americans would be willing to temporarily embrace life online in favour of life with a lover. In terms of statistical percentages related to specific groupings, a survey-high 31 percent of male and female singles revealed a partner-usurping penchant for the Internet, while some younger respondents saw time online as spending time with their best friend.The (ironically?) online survey, which was carried out across close to 10,000 respondents, took place from October 04 through to October 08 and also revealed that a huge 78 percent of those grouped in the 18-24 category have a social networking profile on popular Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Bebo. From an overall perspective, around one in four U.S. residents are thought to have a social networking profile, reports a Reuters article, while, from a political standpoint, social networking is notably more popular with Democrats than Republicans, registering a respective 32 percent against 22 percent.Perhaps even more worryingly, one in ten of those polled actually admitted that they would be willing to have a device safely implanted within them in order to facilitate Internet access directly through the mind. The Zogby/463 Communications survey, designed to gather widespread opinions related to the Internet and Internet use, also revealed a selection of other unusual feedback results. Those included that: 20 percent of respondents would be happy to have tracking chips implanted into children aged 13 or younger; 10 percent claimed that Internet access brought them closer to God; and more than 50 percent thought that Internet-based content such as video material should be controlled by government authorities.