The addiction figures are staggering. Fifty-three percent of the population does it in the bathroom, 37 percent have done it while driving and 12 percent even have done it in church. For 43 percent, it’s on their minds as soon as they wake up. It’s not booze, it’s not drugs, it’s . . . .
an addiction to e-mail
We’re addicted to e-mail. For the last three years, AOL has conducted what it calls its E-mail Addiction Survey, and it shows that we’re checking our e-mail around the clock—whatever it takes.
The survey showed that the average user checks e-mail five times a day, and 59 percent of us who have portable devices sneak a peek every time there’s a new-message alert.
The travel industry is trying to pay attention, but the addiction is a challenge.
Paul Dietzler with Omni Hotels told USA Today that demand for Internet service is skyrocketing. He said about 40 percent of Omni guests use in-room Internet, a level he said he didn’t expect for several more years.
IPass, a Web access provider, told USA Today that Internet connections from hotel rooms grew 255 percent in the first six months of 2007 from the previous year. That growth far exceeds the rate at airports, cafes or retail stores.
One challenge for hoteliers is that guests are demanding reliable service that allows them to download bigger and bigger files. Think documents with lots of graphics (and perhaps some video files, too).
More proof of e-mail addiction:
- While only 15 percent of AOL survey respondents use the word “addicted,” 40 percent say e-mail access is “very” or “somewhat” important when planning vacations—yes, vacations, not work trips.
- Twenty-six percent of respondents check e-mail in bed.
- Forty-three percent keep their portable devices at their bedsides—so they can listen for incoming messages in the night.