Our obsession with smartphones and the internet is laid bare in a major report today.
The average adult looks at their mobile every 12 minutes, and two in five are using one within five minutes of waking.
For the first time, women are spending more time online than men, with those aged between 18 and 24 the most addicted to the internet. Ofcom, which carried out the research, said the nation was in a state of ‘digital dependency’.
Six in ten people told the communications watchdog they could not live without their smartphones.
Almost half admitted spending too long online and even more said that relying on devices was disrupting relationships with family and friends.
The wide-ranging report also revealed that:
* Half of adults confessed their lives would be boring without access to the internet;
* Two thirds described the net as an essential part of their lives;
* Adults spent an average of 24 hours online every week in 2017;
* Seven in ten are glued to their phones on their commute;
* 95 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds have a smartphone, compared with 78 per cent for all ages.
Ofcom described society as ‘always on’, singling out the arrival in 2007 of Apple’s iPhone as a key moment.
One woman interviewed by the watchdog said: ‘I am sleeping a lot less than I would be if I did not have a smartphone.’ Another said: ‘I don’t need to go to the shops any more, I do everything online.’
On average, women spend 33 minutes more a day than men on smartphones. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, the gulf was even greater, with men devoting two hours and 50 minutes a day to their devices, compared with three hours and 40 minutes for women.
Similar gender gaps were seen in all age groups. Previous studies have shown that women are more hooked on social media content.
They are also more likely to use websites to buy clothes for children or for the weekly shop.
Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb, who chairs the Commons science and technology committee, said: ‘The truth is we have gone through a social revolution in not much more than five years.
‘Although social media was around before that, the real explosion in use has happened very recently and at a dramatic pace.
‘As a society, we are trying to adjust to this dramatic change. It is inevitable there will be some damaging consequences. There are positive things but there are dangers lurking out there. The obsessive use many people indulge in is a worry, particularly younger people.
‘There is this sense of no escape, 24/7. It inevitably has an impact on productivity because people, whether they are in business, politics, the media, everyone is looking at social media during their working day.
‘We are all guilty of it. We have to take this really seriously. Social media companies have a big moral responsibility and I think we are only just starting to grapple with how to respond to this.’
Ian Macrae of Ofcom said the smartphone – together with better access to the internet – had transformed our lifestyles.
‘Whether it’s working flexibly, keeping up with current affairs or shopping online, we can do more on the move than ever before,’ he added. ‘But while people appreciate their smartphone as their constant companion, some are finding themselves feeling overloaded when online, or frustrated when they’re not. For most of us, our smartphone is a constant companion. For many, their smartphone is one of the first things they see when they wake up.’
When Ofcom researchers asked adults how they would react to being cut off the internet, 10 per cent said they would feel liberated.
The same proportion admitted they would be ‘more productive’.
Among younger web users, dependency was even more acute. Nineteen per cent said they felt less distracted without the internet and 20 per cent felt life would be less stressful.
Ofcom also found that television was no longer our favourite form of entertainment. In 2007, 52 per cent of adults put it top of the list but by last year this had fallen to 27 per cent. It said BBC iPlayer has driven online addiction.
Google is still the most used website and the average adult spends more than 300 minutes a month looking at content linked to the US search giant.
Facebook came second and now reaches 95 per cent of adults. The Daily Mail’s sister site Mail Online was also in the top ten with a 69 per cent reach last year.
Responding to the report, digital minister Margot James said the Government was working hard to boost online connectivity, especially in rural areas.
However, she added: ‘As society becomes more dependent on digital we need to make sure consumers are protected and informed, so they can reap the benefits of new technologies while guarding against some of the challenges they may present.’
Facebook yesterday introduced a tool providing a daily breakdown of the amount of time users spend online – letting them block themselves from the site.
© Daily Mail
