Sixty per cent of Americans would be unable to go without Wi-Fi for a whole day, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by Broadcom to highlight consumers’ reliance on Wi-Fi, also suggested that 30 per cent of Americans couldn’t go an hour without connecting to the wireless internet.

The survey suggested that Wi-Fi has now become more important than some of life’s greatest pleasures. According to iconicdisplays.com, 43 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they would rather go without chocolate than Wi-Fi. Nearly four out of ten respondents said they would give up coffee for Wi-Fi access.

Reacting to the figures, tech journalist Rebecca Grant suggested that many of the survey’s respondents could be at risk from suffering from internet addiction.

In her latest article for venturebeat.com, she said: “We may judge people who we see smoking a cigarette or feel pity for someone who threw thousands of dollars away on online poker, or stayed awake for 48 hours straight playing a game.

“But next time you refresh Facebook five times in an hour or keep your phone out on a restaurant table, remember that, as with other addictions, you think you have control. Until you don’t.”