Research reveals people care more about their mobiles than their lovers

Can you make it all the way through a lunch date without glancing at your phone at least once? How about having a conversation with your significant other without responding to the little beep of a message?

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Sadly, a study found that the answer to this question for the majority of Brits happens to be no.

Our addiction to technology is becoming all consuming, and according to a survey for Nationwide Building Society’s FlexPlus Current Account, via the Daily Mail, 58 percent of people could not go for longer than a day without checking their phone, but only 28 percent couldn’t go more than 24 hours without speaking to their partner.

The findings, based on feedback from 2,000 people in a relationship across the U.K., might make you doubt that romance still exists.

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When waking up in the morning, 53 percent of respondents checked their phones before speaking to their partner, and given the choice, 42 percent would rather forget their anniversary than lose their mobile phone, and 66 percent report feeling anxious or unhappy without their phones at hand.

According to Huffington Post, researchers found that people spend a great deal of time on their phones, including taking them to the bedroom and the bathroom (even checking them while on the toilet or in the shower).

If you’re one of these people you are probably feeling pretty bad right now, but Nationwide’s head of FlexPlus Current Account Dan King notes the findings really tell us something about our society.

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“It would seem many people prioritise using their mobile phone over spending time with their partner and would struggle to cope without their phone for more than a day,” he says. “This shows just how ingrained phones have become in our culture, as we often retain our memories, information and contacts on just one device.”

It’s Valentine’s Day this weekend. Maybe the best gift you could give your SO is to switch off your smartphone.

Do you put your mobile phone before your partner? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.