Durex survey: when you're on holiday, touch your partner, not your phone

Your phone, your laptop, your tablet and maybe even your Fitbit could be ruining your love life when you're on holiday - that's what a new survey released by Durex last month found.

The survey polled 2000 adults and found that while 52% wanted a better love life on holiday, 60% admitted that the reality is much different.

41% admitted that they spend too much time on their phones instead of their partner, 40% are put off by any romantic goings-on if their partner is on the phone in bed, and 72 respondents admitted that they're even using their phone while in bed with their partner.

Another 15% admit that they're being less active in bed because of tech. In the under 35 age bracket, the number rises to over a quarter.

The cause? Part of it is social media. 65% post up to three times a day on holiday - women being the main culprits, as they post 27% more than men. And the most common place? Almost half of respondents use their devices around the beach or the pool.

A followup scientific experiment and social experiment showed quite clearly that technology is a hindrance on your love life.

Dr Sharif Mowlabocus, researcher at the Centre of Sexual Dissidence at the University of Sussex, found that couples use hotels for device use, and the effect is contagious.

"Participants expressed a strong belief that a holiday should be about switching off – from work, from home and from social media. However, the hotel bedroom, once a place of intimacy, romance and escape, can at times feel more like a frenzied media centre, as the couple rush to upload photos from the day, check in with friends via messenger apps and scroll through newsfeeds to satisfy their longing for their social networks.

"Perhaps a solution would be to introduce more boundaries, for example phones in the lobby rather than the bedroom, or a time limit on phone use," Dr Mowlabocus says.

Durex also filmed a social experiment on couples with and without their devices. Dubbed the #DONOTDISTURB experiment, couples went on a real holiday to see how tech changes their 'holiday sexpectations'.

Volker Sydow, global director at Durex, says the experiment showed that technology is a relationship blocker, with too many hands touching their phone instead of their partner.