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Wi-Fi is now considered a more important luxury than sex and chocolate Dell

If a consistent internet connection is more important to you than having an active sex life, you wouldn't be alone. According to a new study, 4 in 10 of us identify Wi-Fi as our most important daily need, above sex, chocolate and alcohol.

The study, carried about by Wi-Fi connectivity provider iPass, surveyed 1,700 working professionals across Europe and the US about their connectivity habits. It involved asking participants to rank the importance of Wi-Fi against other "human luxuries and necessities" on a scale of 1-4, with one being most important and 4 bring least important. Wi-Fi was labelled most important by 40.2% of respondents, followed by sex (36.6%), chocolate (14.3%) and alcohol, which was ranked as the number one daily essential by 8.9% of respondents.

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"Wi-Fi is not only the most popular method of internet connectivity, it has surpassed many other human luxuries and necessities," said Pat Hume, Chief Commercial Officer at iPass. "The idea that Wi-Fi would be considered more important than sex, alcohol and chocolate would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. For some time now, the internet has appeared on the bottom line of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, almost as a longstanding joke in geek culture. Recently, the idea has gone mainstream."

The reason behind Wi-Fi's growing favour, it seems, is the impact it has had on our daily lives. Apparently, unlike sex, sweets and booze, the proliferation of internet connectivity seems to have had a largely positive effect, with three-quarters of respondents saying Wi-Fi had improved their quality of life.

The study also found that Wi-Fi is increasingly effecting our travel choices, with 72% of respondents claiming to have chosen a hotel based on Wi-Fi availability and 21% citing this as regular make-or-break factor in the decision making process.

It concluded: "Wi-Fi is changing the world for the better, faster than anyone ever expected. Whether mobile professionals are at home, travelling between client meetings, at their hotel on a business trip or even in-flight, they expect to remain connected and productive at all times, working and unwinding as they see fit, not as dictated by their internet connection.

"The answer is simple, giving customers or employees what they want most — more than sex, chocolate or alcohol — secure and reliable Wi-Fi connectivity."