Ever get the feeling you’re addicted to the internet? You’re not alone. As of 2011, there are over 2.2 billion Internet users worldwide. So are we maxing out on our data usage? Not by a long shot.

A new study by Cisco predicts that within the next four years, data usage will actually quadruple! Total data used in 2011 amounted to 368 exabytes worldwide, and that figure is expected to jump to 1.3 zettabytes by 2016. To put that last number in perspective, a zettabyte is equal to 1 billion terabytes, which looks like this on paper -– 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 bytes. (VNI IP Traffic Chart)

So why is the consumption of data rising all over the world?

Two reasons. One is the increase in devices designed access Internet, with more and more people making use of not just their computers, but cell phones, televisions, tablets, even chip identifiers in their pets.  The second reason is speed. Global web speed is projected to increasing from 9 mbps (megabits per second) to a whopping 34 mbps (even faster in Western Europe, at 42 mbps). Get ready for some lightening fast internet by 2016.

Cell phones and Wi-Fi usage are on the rise as well. With Wi-Fi’s widespread availability in coffeeshops, airports, etc, Cisco’s projects that by 2016, over half the world’s online traffic will be from Wi-Fi connections.

So with the world wide web becoming better and faster each day, are we ready for more “internet addiction” across the globe? Check out Cisco’s full VNI report here and let us know your thoughts.