Almost 40 percent of Kiwis have admitted to feeling stressed when they cannot get online, but they're not proud of it, according to Canstar Blue survey results released today.
In what may be considered an unsurprising amount, 39 percent of New Zealanders feel pangs of anxiousness when they cannot access internet, with some saying their internet habits are negatively affecting their relationships.
"Ten percent of New Zealanders say that the amount of time they are spending online is negatively impacting their relationships," says Canstar New Zealand general manager Jose George.
Aucklanders are the most likely to feel anxious when they can't get online, with 47 percent of the city-slickers getting antsy.
Otago residents are the least worried, with only 23 percent feeling anxious when not connected to the world wide web.
Aucklanders are also more likely to spend hours in front of a screen, at an average of 3.7 hours per day. This adds up to around 26 hours per week.
Cantabrians are the least connected of the regions, averaging 2.7 hours per day.
However women may need more of an internet fix than men, with 41 percent feeling more anxious than men, 38 percent, after being away from the internet.
But Kiwis don't want to crow about these statistics, with a quarter admitting to feeling guilty about how long they spend online, but aren't motivated enough to change it, the study says.
This varies between regions, with those in Waikato feeling most guilty, 30 percent, compared with Wellingtonians who seem less bothered at only 20 percent.
And it's a guilty pleasure for the younger generation -- 40 percent of those aged under 29 year say they spend more time socialising online then they do face-to-face.
This is more of a problem for women, with 23 percent admitting to it compared with 19 percent of men.
If this doesn't seem worrying, 41 percent of Kiwis claim they waste time surfing the internet for lack of better things to do.
In fact, 71 percent of those aged between 18 and 29 are most likely to jump on their digital devices if the day is feeling a little dull.
And Netflix-loving people are far from alone, with 66 percent of Kiwis who currently subscribe to a paid video-streaming service choosing Netflix over any others.
The next biggest Kiwi subscriber is Lightbox, attracting 32 percent of Kiwis with a paid service, and Sky TV's Neon only 6 percent.
In terms of the best broadband providers, 2Degrees received five stars for overall satisfaction with their services.
This includes value for money, customer service, network performance and clarity of contract terms.
The main driver for satisfaction for broadband providers is customer service, with 29 percent of Kiwis concerned about this, followed by 24 percent concerned about value for money and network performance.
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