There are more internet-connected devices than residents in the United States.

One apocalypse walks out the door, another does the Randall into the room. There are more internet-connected devices in the world than humans. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that once the AI Hive Mine at the center of Google’s secret laboratory awakens, the first thing it’ll do is actualize these devices into a collective of street-surveying Big Brother networks. But we need Facebook, and Doodle Jump. Frankly, I’m still not certain it isn’t worth the consequences.

Polygon:

There are more devices in U.S. homes that are connected to the internet than there are U.S. residents, according to a recent report from global statistics company The NPD Group’s connectivity research branch, Connected Intelligence.

According to the report, U.S. homes boast 425 million internet-connected devices across a population of about 315 million. Computers are currently still the number-one device used to access the internet, although smartphones are gaining more traction as the second-largest group of internet capable devices. Video game consoles, tablets and already-connected HDTVs are also becoming more widely used for internet access.

The information was gathered from a survey of 4,000 US consumers above the age of 18 conducted in the final quarter of 2012. Internet connected devices included in the survey were machines like computers with broadband applications, smartphones and tablets, video game consoles, HDTVs, Blu-ray players and set top boxes for streaming media.

The NPD Group says that by the end of 2013 screen-sharing across multiple devices will also be more common, creating device “ecosystems” and promoting “throwing” media from handheld devices onto larger television or computer screens. Smaller screens currently boast the greatest reach, with about 133 million smartphone users and 31.8 million tablet owners using their devices for internet access.

“Through 2013, multi-screen and multi-device synergy will lead the growth in the broader connected device market, but only if services consumers desire are delivered in a simplistic manner,” said NPD’s Connected Intelligence director John Buffone. “In this connected world, content providers and consumer technology OEMs need to determine the optimal mix of services and have them on the right devices.”