UK mobile phone addicts check their phone 27 times a day: Report

The average mobile phone user in the UK checked her phone 27 times a day, reveals a new study by consulting firm Deloitte.

The study revealed that between them, Brits checked their phones 1.1 billion times a day and 400 billion times a year.

The average was however skewed by those who checked their phone hundreds of times a day. In fact, only a third (36 per cent) checked their phone over 25 times a day, Deloitte said.

Brits mostly checked their smartphone while on public transport, a third of people though admitted to doing so when eating out at a restaurant, while a fifth of 18-24 year-olds said they did so while cross the road.

The study found more than a third checked their handsets between 25 and 50 times a day, while 16 per cent did it over 50 times from morning until night.

The figures were revealed in the Deloitte Mobile Consumer report, which surveyed 4,000 people in the UK.

The study further revealed that 10 per cent of smartphone owners reached for their device immediately on waking (not to turn off the alarm off) while 53 per cent reached for their device within 15 minutes.

Almost half of 18 to 24-year-olds checked their smartphones within five minutes of waking, to mostly check for texts, emails and social network updates.

The ritual was repeated at bedtime, with over a quarter checking their smartphone within five minutes before they turned off the light.

According to Paul Lee, Deloitte's head of technology, media and telecoms research, "The modern, touch screen-based smartphone is less than a decade old but it is more intertwined with our lives than ever. Constant technological improvements are allowing us to delegate more and more tasks to our phones, from ordering taxis to browsing catalogues and paying for a meal."

The study further showed that 76 per cent of adults in the UK had a smartphone, up 6 per cent on last year and over 32 million smartphones were bought in the UK every year and a further 6 million were handed down.

Most UK consumers used their smartphones 'at every opportunity', according to the study, with two-thirds of owners using their devices on public transport, 60 per cent at work and almost half while meeting a friend.

Among the adults who owned a smartphone, all 95 per cent had used their devices to take a photo and two-thirds had uploaded or shared their images on social networks and instant messaging.