Students would rather give up sex, coffee and eating out over their smartphones, with nearly two thirds owning three or more connected devices, research has revealed.
Nearly a fifth of the students surveyed spend more than five hours online a daily, and often use more than five apps at any one time. Many are rejecting traditional lecture hall-based learning for digital working on campus, with half saying they preferred to work outside of normal university hours.
Nearly half (44%) use mobile devices to note take in lectures, while seven in 10 use them to access university emails.
"In any university or college, being connected and mobile is now an essential part of life - both for work and play,” says Chris Kozup, senior director from Aruba Networks in EMEA. “It’s a central behaviour of the generation we’re calling #GenMobile.
A recent survey showed 26% of Americans can't live without their mobile phones, but only 20% said they couldn't survive without sex.
Cambridge University recently polled its students to find out where they wanted to be able to access university services. Jon Holgate, head of networks at the institution, told the Telegraph: "It turns out that’s in cafes and pubs.
"No one had thought about extending the university network beyond our physical fibre and providing it as a service."