Most Britons say smartphones have made their lives better

Much of the conversation around smartphones revolves around how they have damaged us: affecting our attention spans, altering our brain chemistry, destroying entire generations, and so forth. “In my day, you would play Snake on your dad’s Nokia 3310 and if you didn’t like it you would simply go outside.” That kind of thing.

But ask the general public, and just 13% say smartphones have made their lives worse, while 71% say they have made their lives better.

Looked at from one angle, this sentiment might make sense. Smartphones have more or less put the entire internet in your pocket, as well as a movie-quality camera, and a range of games and apps that make you look like an old man, a baby, or a mythical creature. They also continue to function as phones. On the other hand, perhaps the general public aren’t the best judge of whether or not smartphones – which between 2017 and 2019 allowed you to download an official Jeremy Renner app for any and all Jeremy Renner updates, until it was shut down for bullying – are good for them or not. Not for us to say!

In any case, this pro-phone attitude is pretty consistent across generations: although Britons aged 55 or older are a bit more likely to say these devices have improved their lives (73%) than younger Britons aged 18-34 (68%), we’re still looking at a level of favourability that’s hovering near seven out of ten either way.

YouGov Surveys: Serviced provide quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 27 November 2023, with a nationally representative sample of 1990 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older), and reflect the latest ONS population estimates. Learn more about YouGov Surveys: Serviced.

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