Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 26, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
For around a quarter of US citizens, the Internet functions as a substitute for a real relationship. If a current study by market research institute Zogby is to be believed, not only are more and more people looking for partners online, but by now they also see the net – at least for a while – as a suitable counterpart to a flesh-and-blood life partner. The proportion is highest among singles, 31 percent of whom – men and women alike – stated that the Internet could replace a romantic relationship.
Many Internet users are now no longer looking for a real partner, but for a virtual one, or use virtual worlds to encounter true love. For example, a study by the Leipzig Graduate School of Management showed that online worlds such as Second Life in particular largely serve as a realistic contact exchange. Nevertheless, there is no reason to fear that users lose touch with reality because of their virtual social life. This is because boredom or escape from reality are only rarely a motive for connecting to an Internet universe. “Nevertheless, it will be exciting to investigate more precisely what lies behind those few people who are active in Second Life precisely for reasons of escaping reality,” Kathrin Jung, research associate at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management, conceded to pressetext.
The Zogby survey also brought rather bizarre results to light. As many as eleven percent of Americans would have a chip implanted in order to have access to the Internet directly through their brains. Almost one in five would even have a chip implanted in their child in order to be able to locate them at any time. Ten percent of respondents also claimed that the Internet had brought them closer to God, while six percent believe they have moved further away from God because of modern technologies.
The current hype around social-networking platforms is also reflected in the study. Around one in four respondents has a profile on a networking site such as MySpace or Facebook. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, the proportion is 78 percent. If networking users are divided according to their political orientation, it emerges that more Democrats than Republicans are active on social networks.