Amid the pandemic, the daily time spent on smartphones has increased by 25 percent on average in India, a new study claimed on Monday. While 66 percent of Indians believe smartphone improves their quality of life, nearly 70 percent of Indians feel that if their smartphone usage continues to increase, it is likely to impact their mental/physical health, according to the study by smartphone brand Vivo.

"Amid the socially-distant lives that the pandemic pushed us to lead, the smartphone emerged as the central nervous system for everything be it working or learning from home or staying connected with friends and family," said Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, Vivo India.

Additionally, 74 percent of respondents said that periodically switching off their mobile phones can help them spend more time with family. However, only 18 percent of users have actually switched off their phones on their own.

According to a study titled 'Smartphones and their impact on human relationships 2020,' Indians are spending more time on smartphones since lockdown (April 2020) OTT (59 percent), social media (55 percent), and gaming (45 percent).

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Meanwhile, 79 percent of users agreed that a smartphone helps them stay connected with their loved ones. While smartphones emerged as a necessity and had given much-needed flexibility to people, their excessive usage has triggered addiction.

Nearly 88 percent of users agree that people point them out for using the phone when they are with them, 46 percent of people pick up the phone at least five times in an hour-long conversation. The study, conducted by CyberMedia Research (CMR) for Vivo, had 2,000 respondents aged 15-45 years. (IANS)