Figures from the UK regulator Ofcom said that the use of talk time has fallen for the first time.

Ian Macrae, Ofcom’s director of market intelligence, said that more than 78 percent of adults now own a smartphone.

“Whether it’s working flexibly, keeping up with current affairs or shopping online, we can do more on the move than ever before. But while people appreciate their smartphone as their constant companion, some are finding themselves feeling overloaded when online, or frustrated when they’re not.”

Three quarters of people said their smartphones helped keep them close to friends and family, Ofcom found.

But conversely 54 percent said connected devices interrupted face-to-face conversations with the same people, while more than two in five also admitted to spending too much time online.

Adult users spend an average two hours and 28 minutes a day online on a smartphone, Ofcom said. This rises to three hours and 14 minutes for 18-24 years olds.

Smartphones have also usurped television as the device that adults say they would miss the most.

Some 52 percent were most attached to their televisions in 2007, but by 2018 Ofcom said 48 percent favoured the smartphone, beating the 28 percent who saw the TV as their most important device.