Marketing research and insights news and information. This issue's keywords: time off; digital amnesia; loyalty program membership; virtual reality; consumer privacy

Ninety-one percent of Americans say they are dependent on the Internet and their devices to remember things and consider them to be an extension of their brain according to a study across Europe and the U.S. conducted by Moscow software security firm Kaspersky Lab. About 80 percent of Europeans say they use the Internet as a universal reference book. The study also showed that a consequence of this reliance on technology is the emergence of "digital amnesia," where many respondents say they need technology to remember things for them, including over half of European adults who say they couldn't remember their children's mobile numbers and needed to consult their smartphone. One in three Europeans said they were unable to recite their partner's mobile number. Across all respondents, 57 percent could not remember the phone number for their place of work. Among respondents aged 16-24, over half said their smartphone holds all the information they need to remember. Additionally, 51 percent of Americans and 40 percent of Europeans say they would be incredibly distressed if they lost their devices.

Twenty-five percent of U.S. consumers are "completely satisfied" with their time off, nine points above the global average found a global study by GfK. The study also shows 69 percent of U.S. consumers say they are at least "fairly satisfied" with their leisure time, 11 percentage points above the global average, with Canada (67 percent) and Sweden (57 percent) trailing behind. The countries least likely to be happy with their leisure time are led by Russia, with 31 percent saying they are "not at all satisfied" or "not too satisfied," followed by Japan (30 percent) and Brazil (28 percent). Americans aged 60 and older are most likely to be satisfied with their time off, with 44 percent saying they are "completely satisfied" and 42 percent "fairly satisfied."

Millennials ages 18-35 are more likely than other demographics to be open-minded about investing in a loyalty program membership shows a report by Toronto loyalty marketing firm LoyaltyOne. While 62 percent of consumers say they would consider joining a fee-based reward program if their favorite retailer offered one, 75 percent of Millennials 18-24 years old and 77 percent of 25-34-year-olds would consider joining. Sixty-five percent of consumers say customer rewards are worth paying for if they are relevant to their needs. Millennials were again more enthusiastic on that front, with 79 percent of 18-24-year-olds and 76 percent of 25-34-year-olds saying relevant rewards are worth paying for. Additionally, 47 percent say rewards in fee-based programs are better than rewards offered in free programs and 61 percent of 18-24-year-olds and 54 percent of 25-34-year-olds said the same.

An online survey by Branford, Conn., firm Touchstone Research shows that a vast majority of kids and teens age 10-17 surveyed said they were excited about virtual reality. Eighty-eight percent said they thought virtual reality was "very cool" or "off the charts cool" and 80 percent said they were "very excited" about things they might be able to do with virtual reality. Seventy-eight percent are "very/super interested" in knowing more about virtual reality and the new devices. Although 79 percent of kids and teens have heard of virtual reality, less than half of them have heard about the major players in virtual reality headsets. Thirty-seven percent said they have heard of the Samsung Gear VR, 35 percent have heard of the Oculus Rift and 33 percent have heard of the Sony Project Morpheus. Sixty-four percent of kids and teens said they would use virtual reality to visit another country virtually, the same percentage would explore a place they couldn't go in reality and 62 percent said they would go on an adventure or go to a virtual amusement park.

Gigya shows consumers are increasingly concerned about their privacy but are willing to give up some privacy for more personalized contact from trusted brands according to a report by Mountain View, Calif., customer identity management firm. The report shows that 90 percent of shoppers are "at least somewhat" concerned about how brands use their data and 41 percent of shoppers say they are "comfortable" with biometric logins like thumbprints or eye and facial scans. Fifty-nine percent of shoppers say they will register for Web sites and mobile apps by using PayPal or Amazon accounts and 88 percent say they use social network profiles to login or register for Web sites.

These reports were compiled from recent issues of the Daily News Queue, a free e-newsletter digest of marketing research and insights news and information delivered each business morning. Not already in the Queue? Sign up here!