A new study has shown that 13 per cent of people are addicted to their smartphones. The research, carried out by the University Of Derby, found that the average user 3.6 hours per day on the device and when the participants were asked if they used their phone in banned areas, 35 per cent answered yes.

Social networking sites were the most popularly used apps (87 per cent), followed by instant messaging apps (52 per cent) and news apps (51 per cent).

Relationships were also noted in the research, with 46.8 per cent of participants speaking saying their smartphone improved social relations but nearly a quarter admitting their device was creating communication issues within "real life".

The average age of those taking part in the survey was 29 and it was also found that the more you use a smartphone, the higher the risk of becoming addicted. Moodiness, loneliness and jealousy are said to be key indicators of smartphone addiction, along with an obsession with physical appearance.

Dr Zaheer Hussain also explained that higher scores of narcissism is the most common and obvious sign of the addiction, as well as an obsession with taking selfies and posting them on social media.

"A significant positive relationship was found between narcissism and addiction to the phones, suggesting that the more narcissistic a person is, the more likely they are to be addicted to their smartphone," he said.

"The study informs us about smartphone overuse and the impact on psychological well-being. We now use smartphones on a daily basis and for various tasks so being aware of the psychological effects is very important. There are various smartphone apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Candy Crush, as well as Skype and email that make smartphone use psychologically more attractive and can lead to addiction."