One in 10 people check their phone during sex

Once, if you wanted to offend a partner during sex, you’d need to be imaginative. Perhaps make a ‘face’ when they remove their clothes; perhaps ask them if they’ve stopped going to the gym. Maybe fall asleep. Now, you could just check your phone to signal that you’re really not into this.

And according to a recent study by University of British Columbia, 1 in 10 of us do so, as we’re sociopaths, probably.

The team monitored smartphone use by 221 students for two weeks. In the first week, they asked students to put their phone on loud or vibrate and keep it within reach. During the second, participants turned their alerts off and put their phone away. At the end of the week, the students filled out questionnaires to measure their level of ‘inattention’.

Those who kept their phones on ring or vibrate “reported more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity than when they kept their phones on silent”. Obviously.

As well as the dispiriting sex statistic, the study also indicates that 95 per cent of people “have used their phones during social gatherings” and “seven in 10 used their phone while working”. We use our phones for around two hours a day.

Overall, smartphone use is seen to be causing “ADHD-like symptoms”, including “distraction, difficulty focusing and getting bored easily when trying to focus, fidgeting, having trouble sitting still, difficulty doing quiet tasks and activities, and restlessness”.

Channel that antic energy elsewhere and you may be in for more of a laugh.