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The average Briton spends the equivalent of two working days a week on their mobiles, with a quarter of people checking their mobiles 50 times a day, according to new research.

In fact, a fifth of Britons are now so obsessed with their smartphones that they even use them whilst they are on the loo.

The findings are likely to cause alarm amongst certain users, who feel that people have become too dependent on their smartphones. But others will find the pattern all too familiar.

Over the course of a day an average Briton spends more than two hours glued to their smart phone, like above

Nearly a third (29 per cent) check their mobiles last thing before they go to sleep, whilst 18 per cent check them as soon as they wake up, and 14 per cent will look at their handsets if they wake up during the night.

All that time adds up, so that over the course of a day, the average Briton now spends two hours and 13 minutes on their smartphones – the equivalent of almost 16 hours a week.

Predictably, it is younger users who are the most attached to their mobiles. Nearly half (46 per cent) of 18 to 24 year olds check their phone at least once every 15 minutes.

However, older users are far from immune. More than one in ten checks their mobile phone just as often, according to research commissioned by Comparethemarket.com, the price comparison website.

Somewhat surprisingly, a relatively small proportion of that time is actually spent making calls or sending text messages – the kinds of things 'old fashioned' mobiles were intended to do.

The average user now spends less than three hours a week contacting people in this way. Instead, we spend their time browsing social networks, scrolling through old photographs and banking and shopping online.

In a sign of people's growing self-obsession, the average Briton also spends 35 minutes a week taking so-called 'selfies', and another 35 minutes a week using the reverse camera function on many phones as a substitute mirror.

Mobile phones have become so central to people's lives, one in ten Britons would rather sacrifice time with their loved ones rather than lose their handset, according to the research.

Walking and using a mobile phone has become a particular problem on the streets of Britain as smartphone users pay little attention to where they are walking while immersed in the virtual world of their device

A quarter of people would prefer to give up sweets than go without their mobiles, whilst one in ten would go without lie-ins or give up sex.

Comparethemarket.com commissioned the research to mark the launch of a new online comparison tool for mobile phone tariffs.

Its head of utilities, James Padmore, said: 'We are more dependent than ever on our mobile phones which it why it's so important to shop around to make sure you're on the most cost efficient tariff for your needs.

'We hope our new mobile phone tariff comparison service will help consumers save money on the best mobile deals.'

Britons waste on average 35 minutes a week taking pictures of themselves for 'selfies', like the woman above