Are mobile phones sabotaging the relationships we really value?

There is a subconscious effect on the people around us when we are holding and/or talking on our mobile phones…and believe me, this is not a positive effect!

We now spend more time looking at our PHONE than with our partner!

  • Average user now spends two hours a day using their phone
  • Time we spend with our other halves per day is just 97 minutes  

The average smartphone user tends to spend two hours (119 minutes) a day using their gadget, yet, the amount of time we spend with our other halves per day is just 97 minutes – a third less – on average.

Studies show…

The study by mobile phone provider O2 looked at exactly what we use our phones for and how much time each activity takes each day. Brits now spend 24 minutes every day browsing the internet – longer than anything else. This was followed by checking various social networks (16 mins), listening to music (15 mins) and playing games (13 mins).

Surprisingly, using our smartphone to make calls (13 mins) and send texts (11 mins) are the fifth and sixth most used functions on our mobiles, however, chatting on the phone seems to have made a comeback as year on year figures show a 12 per cent increase in making calls.

And the same can be said for texting, as over the past year there has been a 13 per cent increase in people using their mobile to message friends. What’s more, the research reveals we are replacing many household objects as our smartphones do the same job.

As many as 57 per cent of us admit we have no use for an alarm clock anymore. Meanwhile, half of us no longer wear a watch as we rely on our mobile to tell the time, and 46 per cent use only their phone to take photographs.

How about a February 2019 resolution?

Consider perhaps limiting the use of your phones…in our house, we have 8 young adults at the dinner table, along with Nonna and Grumps (myself and hubby). Big table, big noise, but some can get lost in this rowdy bunch and quietly slip into the cyber space world of Social Media.

So…we’ve banned the use of phones during dinner and even after while we are sitting around the table. Much to their chagrin, but it absolutely has added to the quality of our time together. We have even started playing board games again!

Where else can you minimise the use of mobile phones? Would love to hear your thoughts on this on the comments below.

Be present & breathe

Lynne Lumley

Adv.Dip.Clin.Hyp Adv.Dip.Psychotherapy Adv.Dip.NLP Acc.Reiki Practitioner