By
Daily Mail Reporter
19:24 EST, 29 April 2012
|
19:24 EST, 29 April 2012
Technolody-addicts regularly go 48 hours without speaking to anyone in person, a study has found.
A significant three per cent of adults fall into a so-called ‘digitally dominant’ group which will mainly communicate via text, email or video calls.
It suggests technology – from smartphones to iPads – is helping to kill off physical and social interaction among those obsessed with the devices.
Isolated: Technology is killing off physical and social interaction among those obsessed with the devices
According to researchers for digital marketing agency dnx, adults in the digitally dominant group are four times less likely to go to a shop than average.
Most Britons use digital technology but a majority do so in combination with real life interaction, such as talking to friends in person, said dnx. The researchers questioned 1,000 adults for the survey.
Around 16 per cent of Britons are ‘digitally dominant’ of whom 19 per cent are so ruled by technology they can go for two days without any ‘verbal interaction’ said dnx.
In other words, the only time they speak is if it is via technology but not just computers and phones.
This group prefers to use
an automatic barrier than a ticket collector at a train station or buy
their lunch from a vending machine, for instance.
They
rarely go out without both a mobile phone and a tablet computer, buy
their food via the internet and are four times less likely to go to a
shop than average.
‘Digitally dominant’: Around one in five admit they can go for two days without any ‘verbal interaction’
Drew Nicholson of dnx said: ‘The digital revolution has given us all immense choice in the way we deal with situations from financial transactions to purchasing goods.
‘But it should not be used to replace the art of conversation and human contact.
‘There are a significant minority who are using the far-reaching benefits of digital as a substitute for real personal engagement.’
Most Britons use digital technology but a majority do so in combination with real life interaction, such as going to a shop or talking to friends in person, said dnx.
But 17 per cent of Brits admit they are being left behind by the fast changing pace of technology, the survey discovered.
They will use the internet but make mistakes, such as ordering the wrong quantity of items or not managing to navigate round the web in the way they would like.
Mr Nicholson added: ‘This is a worrying trend. Being unable to fully engage with the digital age is a hinderance in a modern society.’
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