Singaporeans too "emotionally connected" to the internet

Your local employees may be working long and hard hours, but you might actually be causing them more discomfort if you limit or ban their internet usage during office hours.

According to a new study from Tata Communications, the average surveyed Singaporean believes he or she can only survive 7.3 hours without internet access.

The main reason for this? Fear of losing out or feeling disconnected from the world.

Close to eight out 10 (78%) of Singaporeans stated they feel a negative emotion when they are without internet access, higher than the global average of 64%.

In fact, locals are so prone to online surfing that 38% of them would forgo alcohol in favour of internet access, 27% would give up television and 20% would even sacrifice chocolate for their digital connections.

ALSO READ: Want productive employees? Give them a smartphone break.

“While nearly a third of the world’s internet users are spending six hours or more per day actively using the internet, Singapore’s reliance is much greater,” the report stated.

“At 52%, Singaporeans rank high on FOMO (fear of missing out) when they are without an internet connection.”

Singapore also ranked high in terms of the amount of time spent on the internet  in the study, which canvassed responses from 9,417 internet users across France, Germany, India, Singapore, the US, and the UK.

More than four out of 10 Singaporeans actively use the internet for over six hours every day - the second highest percentage worldwide after India.

“Respondents from Asia and those from the USA and Europe are distinctly different in their vision of the most ‘inspirational opportunity’ that the internet will deliver in the future,” the report stated.

“32% of surveyed Singaporeans and 27% of surveyed Indians identified ‘smart cities’ as their preferred choice for what the internet will enable in the future.”

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