You're young. You look hot. You work crazy hours. And, oh, your sex life is nonexistent. Does that mean you're lonely and miserable?

Not really. According to a new study, sex is not your top priority—so long as you have your BlackBerry, iPhone, or laptop to caress.

A University of Chicago study finds that "checking Facebook or Twitter is more alluring than sex for those immersed in the Internet age," reports CBS News. One college student told CBS: “I think it’s true. My computer charger broke and I was freaking out. [There are] so many things to do online — checking emails, Facebook, and Twitter.”

The study involved 250 participants who named "tweets, photos, and comments as the most difficult stimulants to turn down." What's more, the study finds that social media is so intoxicating that "the more the participants tried to resist social media, the higher the craving became."

So it seems lust for technology is trumping lust itself. You might think that's a sad commentary on the state of our culture, but let me tell you, this is great news for Big Law.

What it means is that the next generation of lawyers will be much lower-maintenance. If all they need is a click to be satisfied, they won't be bitching so much about their pitiful private lives, and all that life/work balance stuff. What's more, they can amuse themselves, without having to seek out live beings for diversion. (Remember all those lawyers who got into hot water for having affairs with wives of clients, Playboy models, and Russian spies? If only they had been satisfied with a little on-line action, they could have save everyone embarrassment.)

But the real advantage of this new culture is that it could help make law firms efficient. Satisfying one's needs by checking out Facebook or Twitter obviously takes less time than a hookup, and certainly far less effort than a serious relationship. All that energy can be channeled elsewhere— think billables!

So here's my advice to law firm managers. Scrap those obnoxious memos about how the troops shouldn't go on Facebook, etc., during company time. Instead, load them up with every app possible. Believe me, this way they'll never know what they're missing.

Get The Careerist in your morning email. Sign up today—see box on upper right corner.    

Do you have topics you'd like to discuss or tips to share? Email The Careerist's chief blogger, Vivia Chen, at VChen@alm.com.