Not so smart...addiction to mobile phones puts couples' love lives on hold
A MOBILE phone may be an essential tool for organising our work and social lives...but they put a spanner in the works of romance.
Research shows three-quarters of young couples admit that on a night out, they spend more time browsing social networks on their smartphones than they do talking to each other.
Almost nine in ten of us admit to texting and social networking while sitting at the dinner table.
Mobiles are passion killers in the bedroom, too. Forty per cent of us have turned down our partner’s amorous advances in order to check our smartphones.
Almost one in five admits to checking his or her phone in the heat of the moment.
Researchers for TigerMobiles.com asked 1,500 couples aged 18 to 30 about their sex lives and smartphone usage habits.
Three-quarters confessed that they prefer to chat with online followers, who they may never have met. rather than talk to their partner in the flesh.
Rows ensue, with 74 per cent saying that being interrupted on the phone made them angry.
Smartphones are important but they should not come at the expense of real-life relationships
Rob Myers, of TigerMobiles.com, said mobile phones are having a “shocking” influence on couples’ love lives.
The company is urging couples to follow simple rules to limit smartphone use.
It says users should leave the phone behind when out for dinner and should keep it outside the bedroom or put it in a drawer, out of reach, on nights of passion.
But phones can play a part in helping a romance along, if used wisely. You can spice up your love life by flirting with your partner via texts.
Mr Myers said: “Smartphones are important but they should not come at the expense of real-life relationships. Kicking the habit is all about focus and discipline.
“It will take willpower but if you can retrain your brain not to need to check your smartphone every five minutes then you will replace that with human interaction.”
