New Study Shows Just How Much Smart Phones Are Negatively Impacting On Our Lives

Might be time for that digital detox we’ve been talking about since 2015…

Stats Prove That Our Phone Addiction Is Getting Out Of Hand

by Gemma Faithfull |
Published on

It looks like mobile phones are having a bigger impact on us than we thought. The majority of our time is spent glued to our phone and as new technology and apps are developed we’ve found a way to bring them into the work day and family time. We have no problem with putting our phones down… it’s the keeping them there that’s a struggle.

With everyone else around us doing the same thing it’s been easy to overlook how the maximisation of screen-time is negatively affecting our lives. A new study by Grazia magazine - part of this week's Unplugged issue - reveals how our phone obsession has reached a new level.

When surveyed, a whopping 55% of women believed that a break from technology would make them happier. That’s over half, so why haven’t we done it yet?

Social media is greatly affecting our well-being and even our mental health in serious ways. Not only do a third of women feel as though their body image is being crippled by social media but 26% say that it has a negative impact on anxiety.

Our phone use also impacts on our relationships too, with 68% of those surveyed agreeing with the view that phones are wrecking what was once considered ‘quality’ time with friends and family. It is even affecting our intimate time with partners as a third of women think that using a smartphone before bed harms their sex life.

The survey also revealed that Londoners are the worst culprits of them all. Not only are women living in the capital more phone-obsessed but it’s also having a more devastating impact. If we compare the previously mentioned sex statistic to that specific to London, there is a 29% increase of those women in the city who believe their ‘sexy time’ is going downhill.

Looks like it might be time to take that digital detox seriously…

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Follow Gemma on Twitter @gemmafaithfull

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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