Britons deprived of devices suffer anxiety

It seems we've replaced our childhood security blanket with digital devices, according to a British survey of people's attachment to phones and tablets.

Britons' dependence on digital devices has been laid bare, with separation anxiety affecting more than one-in-five phone and tablet users.

The survey of 2000 British adults for smoothie and juice company innocent, found the average adult spent the equivalent of 20 weeks a year in front of a digital screen.

Some 30 per cent of those polled checked their phone at least once every 30 minutes, the survey found.

A quarter Britons say they feel "bored" after only an hour without their phone, while a close 23 per cent say this separation led to them feeling "anxious".

The most irritating tech habit, according to 35 per cent of respondents, is having a phone at the dinner table.

Having someone check their phone in the middle of a face-to-face conversation (28 per cent), and mobiles ringing during the theatre or cinema (22 per cent) were also popular peeves.

Forty per cent of Brits said they find it difficult to actively take a break from their phone or computer at least once a day, with more than 17 per cent only managing to take a break for an hour or less.

Jamie Sterry, for innocent, said: "It's amazing to see how much time we spend 'connected', either online or on our phones.

"And while we don't think technology is a bad thing by any means, it is important that we don't forget to 'unplug' every so often and make sure we take a break from being constantly connected to technology."

The survey was commissioned to coincide with the innocent unplugged weekend, encouraging people to go "off-grid" on May 28-30.


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Source: AAP



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Britons deprived of devices suffer anxiety | SBS News