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According to a survey by Kelton Research, commissioned by education software company Kno, Inc., 73 percent of college students would do something they might not normally do, including giving up dating or sex, to avoid ever having to carry another heavy textbook--24 percent of students say they carry 20 pounds of textbooks or more on a typical day.

In addition, 46 percent of college students say they've been prevented from studying because they forgot a specific textbook, 20 percent say they've lost their textbooks, and 16 percent have had to deal with missing pages in a textbook.

Seventy-one percent of college students, the survey found, are eager to stop using paper textbooks and go digital, either through an app on a tablet or a smartphone, or online on a laptop, netbook or desktop computer.

If they could access their textbooks digitally, the survey found, 62 percent of college students say they would study more often, and 54 percent say they would do so more efficiently.

Cost is a factor, as well. Eighty-seven percent of college students say they've had to cut back on other expenses in order to pay for textbooks. "I spend so much money on textbooks every semester, and when I go to sell them back, typically receive less than half of what I paid," University of Colorado Denver graduate student Mary Beth Burch said in a statement.

Other key findings include the following:

• 75 percent of students have had to forgo entertainment, such as movies or concerts, in order to pay for textbooks
• 57 percent have surrendered travel, such as their spring break, so they can purchase textbooks
• 45 percent have had to cut back on food in order to pay for their books
• 35 percent are afraid that they won't be able to find the exact book or edition required
• 34 percent of college students would rather take 8am classes every day for their entire college career if it meant never having to carry another textbook
• 34 percent would stay home every Saturday night for a semester if it meant never having to carry another textbook
• 28 percent would have their parents visit them at school every other weekend for an entire school year if it meant no more physical textbooks

The survey of 506 college students was conducted by Kelton Research between July 14 and July 21, 2011 through an e-mail invitation and online survey.

For related news and other information from Schools.com, see:

• Digital learning: Final chapter for textbooks? (infographic)
• College students' study habits evolving with technology
• 4 'stupid myths' of online education
• Colleges deploying mobile learning apps