Two out of five said they “would feel anxious, like part of me is missing,” if they couldn’t use their smartphones to stay connected. One in four people in Gen Y say they check their smartphones so much throughout the day they lose count.

The smartphone has replaced our newspaper, radio and PC, so it should come as no surprise that Gen Y-ers prefer smartphones to PCs and even tablets.

Generation Y, also known as Millennials, have been defined as those born in the late 70’s all the way to early 2000’s. But for this research, Cisco considered students and workers ages 18-30.

This new data is based on a study conducted by InsightExpress in 18 countries with 1,800 respondents.

And it goes beyond just smartphone obsession — Gen Y loves being digitally connected too. Two-thirds of respondents said they spend just as much or more time socializing with friend online than they do in person. Women seem to prefer online interaction compared to men, but not by much: 38% of men spend more time in-person than online, versus 29% of women.

Continue reading…