Internet Deprivation Hurts: Yahoo

Most consumers can't live without the Internet for more than five days.

That's one conclusion of Yahoo, Inc.'s Internet Deprivation Study released this week. The study, conducted by Yahoo and OMD, asked 28 consumers in 13 households to stay offline for two weeks and keep video and written diaries about the experience.

All participants suffered withdrawal and frustration. They said they felt "left out of the loop" and had to "resist temptation" to go online, Yahoo said. The median time that participants could stand being offline: five days.

Participants often forgot or didn't feel like using "old-fashioned tools" like the phone book, newspapers and telephone-based customer service, reported Sunnyvale, CA-based Yahoo.

"It was incredibly difficult to recruit participants for this study, as people weren't willing to be without the Internet for two weeks," said Yahoo chief sales officer Wenda Harris Millard in a statement.

About 75% of 1,000 respondents to a related survey said that Internet access gives them an advantage over offline consumers because of lower prices, quicker service and more convenience.