Millions of Brits ‘too reliant’ on tech products

“Yet this new research suggests that smart gadgets and appliances may have become too smart for comfort.

“Psychologically speaking, the more complicated a machine is for us to interact with, the bigger the cognitive load it places upon us.

“What is meant to be helpful, actually ends up being a source of stress when we have to figure it all out.

“Now, it seems, consumers are returning to more traditional concepts and are looking for products that have been built with real human craftsmanship, ensuring they look beautiful and are easy to use.”

The study also found that four in 10 make adults an effort to buy gadgets and gizmos which are loaded with smart tech. However, when the products arrive 54 per cent only occasionally use the smart properties and three in 10 have never used them.

The most unused features are voice control, syncing with your smart phone, and even touch screens. It also emerged price is the most important factor (72 per cent) when purchasing new household items.

This was followed closely by size and reliability (both 67 per cent) and energy efficiency (63 per cent), with smart properties falling short of the priority list (nine per cent).

HONEY LANGCASTER-JAMES’ TOP TIPS FOR GOING BACK TO BASICS WITH YOUR HOUSEHOLD ITEMS:

1. In the kitchen, many of us turn to gadgets like mixers and blenders, but going back to kitchen basics and mixing up a cake batter by hand, for example, can be a mindful and therapeutic activity.

2. We tend to take hundreds of digital photos but never actually print anything tangible. However, having photos of your loved ones and happy memories around the home can boost your mood, so ditch the digital and go old school prints instead – the fridge is a great place to showcase these.

3. These days we spend a great deal of time staring at screens, from the TV to our laptops and mobile phones and there is little doubt that this could be negatively affecting your mood and the quality of your sleep. Remove all screens out of the kitchen, invite family and friends to help you when cooking or unpacking shopping, and engage in some conversation with your loved ones instead.

4. We tend to get most of our recipes from the internet and no longer write them down. Why not create a recipe book with all your family and friends’ favourite recipes and hand-write each one. The act of writing can be therapeutic and as a result you’re left with a sentimental book to pass down to future generations.