Average Brit spends decade of their lives using technology

The average Brit will spend the equivalent of a decade of their lives using smartphones, tablets and laptops – and share a staggering 92,053 social media posts, it has emerged.

Researchers who carried out a detailed study discovered the true extent to which every element of our lives is conducted while holding or staring at a high-tech device.

The poll of 2,000 adults revealed we now hold eight ‘conversations’ every week taking place with voice activated appliances.

It also emerged individuals receive an average of 59 notifications each day, including 16 personal emails, nine Facebook interactions and a further eight on Instagram.  

The study also found streaming services set Brits back an average of £21,061 during a lifetime, but they get their money’s worth spending four years watching downloads or TV.

Six different apps are used and 12 songs are played on a handheld device during the typical day.

The study was commissioned by Starcom, the human experience agency, as part of broader research into the future of relationships.

Mark Howley, Starcom’s CEO, said: “The survey demonstrates in hard numbers how we use tech platforms as the basis of many, or even most, of our daily human interactions.

“And it nods towards the speed of adoption of new services and new tech-enabled ways of doing things, and with the advances in AI, voice devices and 5G, that relationship is only going to evolve.  

“I am sure the connected home, connected devices, ‘voice’, wearables, fintech, the e-commerce of everything, will be upon us as mainstream perhaps faster than we may believe.

”In the words of Bill Gates ‘don’t let yourself be lulled into inaction.’”

Waking up with the smartphone!

The research also found eight in 10 agree technology has made life ‘easier’ and 71 per cent depend on it daily.

Almost two thirds consider using tech as ‘second nature’ and three in five couldn’t image going a whole day without it.  

Three quarters of Brits ‘rely’ upon tech for online banking and 68 per cent use it to keep in touch with family and friends, proving how much of an influence devices have on modern relationships.

A further six in 10 use technology for shopping, with one in 10 placing online orders at least once a week.

Almost two thirds admitted they would ‘struggle’ without technology in their life, which is no surprise when 42 per cent use their mobile phone calendar to ‘organise and keep track’ of their life.

Similarly, half use their mobile alarm to wake them up every day and over one third use event reminders.

The average adult looks at their phone within half an hour of waking up, while three in 10 check the device within 0-10 minutes of awaking.

One quarter check online news sites every day and one in 10 use contactless payments for all of their purchases.