• Daily Mail, Tuesday, July 26, 2011 12:25 PM

For better or worse, Internet usage is increasingly becoming an addiction, reports The Daily Mail, citing a new study of 1,000 Britons. Among the study's participants, 53% reported feeling "upset" about being deprived of online access after 24 without a digital "hit," while 40% said they felt lonely.

Conducted by consumer research firm Intersperience, "The research found that people experience these feelings even if denied online access for a short time," The Daily Mail notes. Participants were quizzed on their attitudes to the use of the Internet, smart phones, and other devices, and were even asked to go 24 hours without any access to internet technology.

"Giving up all technology allowing Web access was described by some participants as similar to quitting drinking or smoking," The Daily Mail reports. Even more alarming (or, perhaps, encouraging for online publishers and marketers), one survey respondent even said being deprived of the Internet was "like having my hand chopped off."

Read the whole story at Daily Mail »