You are checking your emails when you start daydreaming about where to go on your summer holiday. This reminds you to compare the cost of local gyms. Then you suddenly decide to look up venues for your birthday party. You may think you are browsing the internet in a slightly absent-minded manner. You are, in fact, "wilfing".
According to a survey for a financial website, almost seven in 10 internet users admit to the newly named habit. The study of 2,400 people found more than a quarter of internet users "wilf" - a rough acronym of "What Was I Looking For?" - for two days every month.
Stopping yourself wilfing takes a mixture of planning and willpower. These days there are all manner of websites vying for our attention. Internet users need to set themselves a specific surfing goal and time limit to keep on track. Shopping is the online activity most likely to make users wilf. Men are more likely to admit to being wilfers than women. A third of the men questioned said the habit had damaged their relationship with a partner.
The good news is that wilfing is a habit people tend to grow out of. Internet users aged 55 or over were three times less likely to wilf than those aged under 25.
The internet was designed to make it easier for people to access the information they need quickly and conveniently. 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.
It's important people do not allow unnecessary online distractions to get in the way when surfing the internet, as it can affect productivity in the workplace and relationships at home. So, are you a wilfer, lost on the internet?
According to a survey for a financial website, almost seven in 10 internet users admit to the newly named habit. The study of 2,400 people found more than a quarter of internet users "wilf" - a rough acronym of "What Was I Looking For?" - for two days every month.
Stopping yourself wilfing takes a mixture of planning and willpower. These days there are all manner of websites vying for our attention. Internet users need to set themselves a specific surfing goal and time limit to keep on track. Shopping is the online activity most likely to make users wilf. Men are more likely to admit to being wilfers than women. A third of the men questioned said the habit had damaged their relationship with a partner.
The good news is that wilfing is a habit people tend to grow out of. Internet users aged 55 or over were three times less likely to wilf than those aged under 25.
The internet was designed to make it easier for people to access the information they need quickly and conveniently. 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.
It's important people do not allow unnecessary online distractions to get in the way when surfing the internet, as it can affect productivity in the workplace and relationships at home. So, are you a wilfer, lost on the internet?
