Technology can buy you love, but...

BANGALORE, INDIA: Where do you get real love? From your family, or the virtual world? In this age of virtual reality, the net savvy adults feel it is the Internet that improves their love life.

According to the second annual 'Norton Online Living Report' from Symantec, today’s Internet surfers are feeling lucky in love with seven in 10 adults reporting that the Internet improves their relationships.

People have an average of 41 online friends, and 49 per cent have a social networking page, says the survey. Also 25 per cent even share secrets online.

The Internet has become such a central vehicle for communication and connection that six in 10 adults say they could not live without it, it says.

Three in four have gone on to meet someone in person whom they originally met online.

And, as expected, males tend to have more online friends than females do, the survey points out.

The great Indian story

Interestingly, in India 83 per cent of people are most likely to make friends online, and 37 per cent of online adults are using the Internet to rekindle a romantic relationship.

But the online adults in India are paying heavily for the Net behavior as they display lowest level of socializing with family or friends in the real world.

Technology might buy you love, but security risks are higher than you think, the worldwide survey report warns.

Though 99 per cent of adults who use Internet say they have taken steps to secure their personal information, unsafe surfing, dangerous habits and hacked computers are alarmingly common.

Half of online adults knowingly visit un-trusted Web sites, do not back up their data and use unsafe passwords and one in three report having actually been hacked, it said.

No kids' play

Another alarming point is that one in five kids admitted to looking at or doing things online that they knew their parents wouldn’t condone. And only one in five kids get nabbed by parents for unapproved online behavior.

Though they surf the romantic space, luckily, 90 per cent of parents recognize their responsibility to protect kids online and are initiating more dialogue on the topic - 20 per cent more than last year, according to Norton.

And then, some kids are really smart in closing the online generation gap. 25 per cent are 'friending' their parents online and 14 per cent are using technologies like IM and social networking to link to their grandparents.

One in three kids are more willing to communicate with their family about touchy subjects online than on the phone or in person. This percentage almost triples in India (59 per cent). 91 per cent of parents in India say it is their responsibility to keep their kids safe online.

The survey was conducted online in 12 countries - U.S., Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China, Japan, India, Australia, and Brazil, among 6,427 adults and 2,614 children aged 8-17 who spend one or more hours online each month.

“In India we have witnessed a frenzy of online activity via social networking—from rediscovering cousins across the world, to virtually 'friending' friends and acquaintances and even rekindling old flames,” said Gaurav Kanwal, country sales manager, India - Consumer Products and Solutions, Symantec.

But while it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement, people need to be mindful of the dangers, he reminds.

Despite the fact that 99 per cent of adults feel they take steps to be secure, this year’s report found that many consumers are not fully protected as they flirt, share and make friends online.

Even more troubling, two in 10 adults worldwide do not use any security software at all. Adults in India rank the highest when it comes to not having the basic security measures. 33 per cent of adults in India do not have security software, it says, despite having experienced the pain of a hard drive crash and losing valuable content.

But what make the people hug the Net so passionately, though they are aware of the risks? Love for the virtual ones, or that they miss something in real life?