It would seem that the boundaries between these four have faded significantly, according to the new 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report. The study confirms that a sizable chunk of students and young professionals consider the internet as an “integral part of their lives.”

“Air, Water, and Internet: One of every three college students and employees surveyed globally (33%) believes the Internet is a fundamental resource for the human race — as important as air, water, food and shelter. About half (49% of college student and 47% of employees) believe it is “pretty close” to that level of importance.”

Another interesting highlight is that 64 percent of the students who participated in the study said they would rather have a connection than a car.  The report also digs in a bit deeper, and breaks down ‘internet’ into the most prominent trends that give it such a great influence of one’s life.  The first one is naturally social media. Twenty seven percent of the college students said they would choose Facebook over real-life social interaction.  This is the reason social media is such a serious business. From the fiscal angle you have Facebook’s multibillion dollar valuation, and micro-economies such as Zynga.  The game developer even struck a deal with Capitol Bank yesterday to boost sales on a whole different level.

On the flip side of the coin, social media has an impact on more serious topics, such as political decision-making.  One example is the case of two Mexico-based users who are accused of terrorism for describing drug cartel violence on Facebook and Twitter.

Cisco’s report also encompasses another topic – the mobile worker. This too is a serious trend, which is apparent not only by looking at figures but also by looking at the market. VMware for one launched View 5.0 a while back, and Citrix has found a niche in this market as well.  Mobility and connectivity have changed our entire culture around work, enabling new kinds of work hours, locations and collaborative infrastructures to take place.