DAWN NEESOM MIND OF MY OWN

The Woman's Own columnist has her say on phones, swearing and sex

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IT'S TIME TO PUT DOWN OUR DEVICES

Our phones are taking way too much of our attention

Mobile phones are the crack cocaine of technology. Seriously, five minutes ago none of us knew we even needed them, now they're glued to our hands as if our lives depended on it. Witness the sheer, nerve-shredding panic when you mislay yours. It's stupidly scary. But our lives are on these damn minicomputers – everything we do, we do from our phones, from banking to map-reading. Ironically one of the things we rarely do on them is make actual phone calls. Messaging, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, X and a million other apps have seen to that.

Our phones are a communication device that have led to the highest levels of loneliness, isolation, depression and anxiety we've witnessed in years.

So maybe you won't be shocked to learn that adults in Britain are now officially spending more time on mobiles than watching telly.