The question posed to people in the U.K. was simple – which would you least be willing to give up for a month from the group of tea/coffee, sex, chocolate, alcohol, and mobile phone? And the result is… the English bloody well like a good cup of tea, but that’s not the reason this is being posted up here obviously.

What was interesting was that for 16-24 year olds, mobile phones were the runaway winner – 30%, versus 18% for each of tea/coffee, sex and chocolate (alcohol came a distant fifth) – while mobile phones came almost dead last for all the other age brackets. But what was more interesting was that 22% of the youngest age group said they wouldn’t give their phone up unless they were given more than a million pounds (this is probably a lie, but it makes the point), while 20% said that mobile phones actually decrease their quality of life. As the researchers summed it up:

The survey showed clearly that living without a mobile phone affects people in different ways; some participants reported feeling lost, isolated and frustrated, while others felt free from life’s pressures.

It looks like another interesting divide within the net generation - a large group of people that can barely cope without being constantly connected, and a large group of people that can barely cope with being constantly connected. While most of the research and discussion around the Web 2.0 is currently focused on the former group, companies that find a way to help the latter group enjoy the benefits of connectivity without ruining that peaceful cup of tea might be handsomely rewarded.