Smartphones give rise to generation of mobile zombies

IF YOU reach for your phone as soon as you wake up and struggle to put it down at night, you are not alone.

A study in the UK has found more than a third of citizens check their handsets between 25 and 50 times a day, while 16 percent do it more than 50 times from morning until night. It is so common that smartphone owners in the UK collectively pick up their devices 1.1 billion times every day.

The figures come from the Deloitte mobile consumer report that surveyed 4 000 people.

They show that one in 10 smartphone owners reaches for their device immediately on waking up – and not just to turn the alarm off – while 53 percent have done so within 15 minutes.

Almost half of 18 to 24-yearolds check their smartphones within five minutes of waking up, mainly to check for texts, e-mails and social network updates.

The ritual is repeated at bedtime, with more than a quarter (28 percent) checking their smart- phone within five minutes before turning off the light.

Paul Lee, Deloitte’s head of technology, media and telecoms research, said: “The modern, touchscreen-based smartphone is less than a decade old, but it is more intertwined with our lives than ever.

“Constant technological improvements are allowing us to delegate more and more tasks to our phones, from ordering taxis to browsing catalogues and paying for a meal.” – Daily Mail