According to a recently released report, by 2020, the mobile phone is expected to become the most popular device used for accessing the Internet.

The survey was conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which interviewed several Internet leaders and analysts. The total number of participants was of 1,196 and included 578 Internet "activists, builders, and commentators" and also 618 stakeholders. The questions asked were connected to their opinions on certain aspects of the year 2020, such as the social, economic and political evolution and changes.

81 percent of the participants agreed that the mobile phone will surely become the number one Internet connection tool by 2020.

"While some people are hopeful about a hyper-connected future with more freedom, flexibility, and life enhancements, others express fears that mobility and ubiquity of networked computing devices will be harmful for most people by adding to stress and challenging family life and social life," notes the report. 57 percent of the respondents believe that the Internet use will cause the separation between work and personal time to disappear, keeping people connected at all times with all of their tasks and activities. The general conclusion was that "few lines divide professional time from personal time," and that people are pleased with the way work and play are "seamlessly integrated in most of these workers' lives."

Just 33 percent of total respondents believe that the social tolerance on the Web will advance by 2020, as the experts explained that with the expansion of the Internet, the potential for hate, bigotry, and terrorism will also significantly increase. Social tolerance is “not in mankind’s nature,” explained survey respondent Adam Peake, policy analyst for the Center for Global Communications, who strongly believes that this phenomenon will continue to be extremely present, in all of its forms, around the world.

"Tribes will be defined by social enclaves on the Internet, rather than by geography or kinship, but the world will be more fragmented and less tolerant, since one's real-world surroundings will not have the homogeneity of one's online clan," said Jim Horning, SPARTA's chief scientist for information security, in the report.

Another aspect covered by the survey is the one related to the Internet’s architecture, which is believed to be significantly improved over the upcoming years, but not replaced by a new system. Voice and touch will become more and more popular, and will soon be used more than the traditional keyboard.

Another question asked was whether the "content control through copyright-protection technology dominates" in 2020, and 31 percent noted that they mostly agree while 60 percent said that they mostly disagree.

The Internet frenzy is expected to reach new highs with people everywhere connecting and interacting in artificial spaces. These virtual worlds already represent a major interest for many and the trend is very likely to continue, with people feeling more and more dependant of their computers and the virtual experience.