OK, it's official. You can tell mobile phones have become embedded in the very fabric of our existence when not even the jingle jangle of cold, hard cash will pry them from our hands. Carphone Warehouse's Mobile Life survey confirms this and a few other interesting tidbits about the importance of mobile phones.

Fully one-third of the survey respondents said they'd rather cling to their devices than receive 1 million pounds. Mobile phones were deemed "critical" to maintaining social lives and friendships in the survey by 85% of respondents. Another 76% agreed that mobile phones were a social requirement.

I agree. It's totally annoying to meet someone and later find out you can't reach them whenever you want because they don't have a cell phone. (I suppose that says something, though, about our society and instant gratification.) Thankfully this is becoming more and more rare as cell phone penetration continues to climb in the United States. Four out of every five Americans (79.7%) carry one.

They are also a requirement for business. Can we really be productive from the road without them? They are a critical link to colleagues, the office, and home.

Younger survey participants (age 16-24) said they would rather give up alcohol, chocolate, coffee, sex, or tea than to be without their mobile phones for an entire month. Wow. Mobile phones are more important than ... tea? Only in England.