Britons waste online time 'wilfing': study

British Internet users spend an average of two days a month surfing the web aimlessly, or "wilfing" as the activity has been dubbed, according to a study released on Tuesday.

British Internet users spend an average of two days a month surfing the web aimlessly, or "wilfing" as the activity has been dubbed, according to a study released on Tuesday.

More than two thirds of Britons admit to wilfing -- short for what was I looking for? -- while a quarter say they spend 30 percent or more of their time on the Internet surfing without any purpose.

Men are bigger wilfers than women, with shopping websites the biggest distractions, according to the study by price comparison website moneysupermarket.com.

"The Internet was designed to make it easier for people to access the information they need quickly and conveniently," said Jason Lloyd, head of broadband at the website.

"However, our study shows that although people log on with a purpose, they are now being offered so much choice and online distraction that many forget what they are there for, and spend hours aimlessly wilfing instead." 

A third of all men admitted that wilfing has harmed their relationship -- perhaps because almost one in five confess they are "distracted" from work or study by adult entertainment websites.

"These days there are all manner of websites gunning for our attention," said British television "lifestyle coach" Pete Cohen.

"Not allowing ourselves to wilf takes a mixture of planning and willpower."

The research was compiled by the YouGov polling body based on questioning of 2,412 adults.

成年人進行了訪問本周二公布的一項調查顯示，英國網民每月平均有兩天的時間在網上漫無目的的閑逛，這種行為被授予了一個新名詞--“網游”(wilfing)。

超過三分之二的英國人承認自己在“網游”（"我在找什么？What was I Looking For的縮寫），四分之一的人說他們上網時有30%或更多的時間是在沒有任何目的的閑逛。

發起這項調查的價格比較網站moneysupermarket.com稱，男人比女人更愛在網上閑逛，那些購物網站是最容易讓他們分心的地方。

該網站的寬帶主管詹森·勞埃德說，“互聯網是為了讓人們更快捷、更方便的獲取他們需要的信息。” 此文由英語作文網收集整理

“可我們的調查表明，雖然人們上網是有目的的，但現在網上有這么多誘惑和讓人分心的東西，所以很多人忘了他們上網要做什么，最后就在網上漫無目的地游蕩了。”

三分之一的男性承認，在網上閑逛影響了他們的人際關系--有五分之一的人坦稱，成人娛樂網站總讓他們在工作或學習時分心。

英國電視臺“生活方式教練”頻道的皮特·科恩說，“如今，各種各樣的網站都在吸引我們的眼球。”

“克制自己在網上瞎逛不僅需要計劃，還需要毅力。”

這項由YouGov民調機構匯編的調查共對2412名。