A shocking 75% of Brits believe they could not go more than a day without their mobile phone, and 85% would rather give up chocolate, alcohol or sex than surrender their trusty handset.
New research, based on 1,000 responses from UK consumers, has revealed the degree to which Brits are increasingly dependent upon a growing number of communications technologies, from text and Twitter on their mobile phone to email on their BlackBerry and instant messaging on their laptop.
Asked what they would rather give up for one month, 62% of respondents chose chocolate, 23% chose alcohol, eight% chose sex and only seven% chose their mobile phone, according to the research conducted on behalf of unified communications provider, Lumison.
Such is the bond between Brits and their mobile phones, a staggering 10% of respondents said they couldn’t go more than five minutes without their mobile. Another 18% said they could only go an hour, while 16% said they could make it to four hours. Also, 20% could last a day but just 25% could go longer than a full day without their mobile.
Aydin Kurt-Elli, CEO at Lumison, said: “Brits are now hugely reliant upon technology to stay in touch with friends, colleagues, contacts and business associates. But this brings it own complexity. Mobile is clearly the device of choice for many, but ever more powerful devices mean people are now using their mobiles for much more than voice calls of text.
“Similarly a laptop is now a device for multiple communications, including social networking, email, web surfing, internet phone calls and instant messaging, across many locations from home to office, via pubs and coffee shops, wherever people can get online,” he continued. “This means there is a vast array of ways in which people want to be contacted and how and when they choose to contact people. We just need to make sure all this technology is joined up, because missed calls or unread emails can cost money in lost opportunities.”
The survey also suggested post – or snail mail – is now a thing of the past. Altogether, 62% of respondents haven’t posted a letter within the past month and for 19% of respondents it has been more than five years since they posted a letter.