Image via PixabayAdults predict they could only go without their phone and TV for just five hours, while they could manage three days without a laptop or tablet.
A study of 2,000 people found 71 per cent admitted they’d struggle to manage their life if they didn’t have access to the internet.
And without a phone more than half (56 per cent) would hardly communicate with anyone.
When it comes to games consoles adults could manage for three days without access to them.
But people would only be able to manage an average of five hours and 11 minutes without their phone, relying on it for online banking (44 per cent), social media (38 per cent) and maps and directions (34 per cent).
The research was commissioned by Tesco Mobile, which is distributing data through the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks as part of its Little Helps Databank, aiming to connect 50,000 people facing financial hardship by 2025.
Living smarter
The research also found technology is used on a daily basis for accessing the internet (51 per cent), speaking to family and friends (45 per cent) and keeping up to date with news (45 per cent).
During the average day mobile phones are used for three hours and 34 minutes, while laptops are active for just under four hours.
In the past 12 months alone, people have used their smart device to pay bills (32 per cent), book medical appointments (24 per cent) and order food shopping (22 per cent).
Others have accessed benefits advice and other forms of support (12 per cent), applied for a job (11 per cent) and booked their child onto after school clubs (10 per cent).
Lack of access to devices and the internet would leave people feeling disconnected (38 per cent), isolated (27 per cent) and lonely (25 per cent).
Despite seven in 10 (71 per cent) assuming most adults would have a mobile phone with sufficient data today, 35 per cent know someone who can’t access the internet, according to the OnePoll data.
