UK - Regulator's survey reports obsession with smartphones, with 60% of teenagers "highly addicted"

[knowyourmobile] Telecommunications regulator Ofcom has issued a detailed survey that highlights the UK's obsession with the smartphone.

The 341 page document, which is its annual Communications Market Report, claims 37 per cent of adults and 60 per cent of teenages are 'highly addicted' to their smartphones.

It also found one in three adults in the UK use a smartphone, with 58 per cent of that figure male and 42 per cent female. For teenagers, more girls own a smartphone - 48 per cent male versus 52 per cent female.

You may think the iPhone was top throughout but the survey found the BlackBerry – or the CrackBerry as we should probably now call it – was the most popular handset maker for teenagers (37 per cent said it was their preferred brand).

If BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) isn't a big part of the reason for this we'll eat our metaphorical hat.

The iPhone doesn't miss out on a mention: 32 per cent of adults said the iPhone was, suprise surprise, their favourite smartphone.

Adult Britons mostly use their phone for email, internet surfing and social networking. Teenagers prefer social networking, listening to music and playing games

To emphasise just how addicted we have become to the smartphone, over half of adults and two-thirds of teenages have used one during a social situation. 50 per cent of teens also admit they have answered or used their phone when on the toilet.

It's definitely hard to imagine surviving without smartphones, the internet and social networking websites such as Twitter or Facebook, but there was a time when riding your bike or kicking a ball about was enough.

60 per cent of teens 'highly addicted' to their CrackBerry smartphones