The Internet really has got people hooked. According to one report on a survey of Americans, one in five of them is giving up sex in order to spend more time online. Indeed, several people feel that if they can’t go online, there is something missing in their life, the study suggested.

However, the research is not necessarily all that it seems. What people say they do and what they actually do are often different things. You will find it hard to find anyone who admits to buying The Sun newspaper – but it sells three million copies a day…! Similarly, ask a group of people what soap operas they watch. Few will admit to watching any, yet the viewing figures tell another story.

So it is with this research. People say they are giving up sex to spend more time online, but it may just feel like that to them, rather than actually being the case. What this tells us as online businesses is not to take surveys and studies like this at face value.

Instead, use data, real numbers that show exactly what people are actually doing. You can do this on your web site easily – and free of charge – using Google Analytics.