思科调查：1/3的年轻人宁死也要上网

    互联网设备制造商思科系统（Cisco System）发布报告指出，互联网对于年轻人的重要性不亚于生命。

    共有2,800名30岁以下的大学生和公司员工接受了调查，三分之一的受访者表示，互联网对于他们的重要性和空气、水、食物以及住所一样。按照这个逻辑，他们宁愿窒息而亡，也不愿看不到Twitter更新、欣赏不到好友发布在Facebook上的搞笑照片。

    假如（希望如此）你让他们坐下来，和他们好好畅谈一番，你（和他们）就会发现他们不会真的因为没有互联网而选择离开人世。然而，思科的《互联世界技术报告》（Cisco's Connected World Technology Report）向企业招聘人员传达了一个重要信息：最好让员工能自由使用各种技术和通讯发时，否则公司就会遇到麻烦。

    思科认为其研究表明“网络在人们生活中扮演的角色越来越重要”，这也许能解释身为全球领先的互联网路由器和交换机制造商思科为什么要开展这样一项研究。思科首席未来畅想家戴维•埃文斯在一份声明中表示，调查结果强调了“‘产销者’的生活方式”。所谓产销者，是同一工作平台上专业生产者和消费者的结合。（例如淘宝、Facebook这样由用户创造内容、同时进行消费的网站——译注）。

    这是思科第二次发布类似的报告，该公司称以后将每年发布一次。去年的报告结果和今年基本一致，虽然思科当时强调，在年轻员工眼里，移动性和灵活性排在最前面；紧随其后的是互联网和生命。

    在最新的调查中，三分之一的受访者称，在考虑雇主时，他们会将能否在家办公、移动设备的选择和“自由使用社交媒体”作为最重要的三大因素，而薪资待遇则滑落至第四位。

    在年纪较长的人看来，或许这样的数据证明年轻人自以为是、自由散漫；毫无疑问，这些确实能说明问题。不过好消息是，有三分之二的受访者仍然选择了空气而非互联网。

    更为重要的是，调查显示，年轻人工作和个人生活之间的界限越来越模糊。他们会“时刻在线”，从雇主角度而言（从社会角度而言则未必）这有益无害。大部分受访者（70%）在Facebook上和其老板或同事是好友。他们不但在工作中保持联系，还随时关注大家在周末的任何重要聚会。

    有些公司仍然限制员工接入互联网，例如他们会屏蔽一些“浪费时间的”网站，这些公司要注意了；同样，只许员工们使用特定技术的IT经理们也要注意了。在其它条件都相同的情况下，如果能以较低薪水招到富有才华的员工，前提是允许他们访问Facebook，或是发给他们iPhone而不是黑莓（BlackBerry），公司何乐而不为。喜欢浪费时间的员工无论怎样都会浪费时间。开放Facebook和Twitter会使员工觉得自己能当家作主，而且与公司、与其他人紧密联系。反之，屏蔽互联网只会让他们觉得自己像小孩一样被公司死死管住。

    译者：项航

    A study by Cisco Systems (CSCO), which makes equipment that runs the Internet, concludes that the Internet, to many young people, is as important as life itself.

    A third of the 2,800 college students and workers under 30 polled said the Internet is as valuable to them as air, water, food, and shelter. Followed to its logical conclusion, that means they would sooner die of asphyxiation than go without Twitter updates and friends' wacky photos on Facebook.

    Presumably (hopefully) if you sat those respondents down and talked to them, you (and they) would learn that they wouldn't actually rather die than live without the Internet. But the results of Cisco's Connected World Technology Report nevertheless carry an important message for corporate recruiters: you'd better make technology and communications freely available to your employees, or you might be in trouble.

    Cisco says the study reveals the "increasing role of the network in people's lives," which might offer a hint as to why one of the world's leading manufacturers of Internet routers and switches conducted it in the first place. Dave Evans, Cisco's chief futurist, said in a statement that the results highlight the "lifestyles of 'prosumers' -- the blending of professionals and consumers in the workplace."

    This is the second such study, which the company says will be conducted annually. Last year's results were much the same, though the company emphasized young workers' preferences for mobility and flexibility over their preferences for Internet access over life itself.

    A third of respondents in the new report said that, in choosing an employer, they would put the ability to work from home, choice of mobile device, and "social media freedom" above salary as priorities.

    Some older people might see statistics like these as evidence of a streak of entitlement and a lack of focus on the part of younger people, and no doubt those are factors. But the good news is that two-thirds of them would still choose oxygen over Internet access.

    More to the point, the survey reveals that younger people are less apt to make distinctions between their work and personal lives. They are "always on," which from an employer's perspective (if not necessarily society's) can only be a good thing. Most respondents -- 70% -- are friends with their bosses or coworkers on Facebook. They keep up with work along with keeping up with this weekend's keg parties.

    Employers that are still restricting their workers' Internet access, such as by blocking certain "time-wasting" sites, should take note, as should IT managers that are still restricting which technologies workers should be allowed to use. Everything else being equal, if you can snag talented workers at lower salaries by letting them look at Facebook or by giving them an iPhone (AAPL) rather than a BlackBerry (RIMM), it seems like a no-brainer that you should. Workers prone to wasting time will waste time no matter what. Allowing access to Facebook and Twitter makes workers feel empowered and connected -- including to the workplace. Blocking access makes them feel like children.