Seven out of 10 people in the UK believe they could not go more than a day without using their mobile phone according to research from Lumison.

The communications provider said its research found that 85 per cent of the public would rather give up chocolate, alcohol or sex than surrender their handset.

The survey results also suggested that sending letters by post is now a thing of the past. Six in 10 of the 1,000 people who took part said they had not posted a letter within the past month and almost two in 10 had not posted a letter in more than five years.

Aydin Kurt-Elli, CEO of Lumison, said: “Brits are now hugely reliant upon technology to stay in touch with friends, colleagues, contacts and business associates. But this brings its own complexity.

"The mobile is clearly the device of choice for many, but ever-more powerful devices mean people are now using their mobiles for much more than voice calls of text."

Lumison said the study revealed the degree to which Brits are increasingly dependent upon a growing number of communications technologies. This ranges from text and sending messages to micro-blogging site Twitter on their mobile phone to email on smartphones, such as a Blackberry and instant messaging on a laptop.

Ten per cent of respondents said they couldn’t go more than five minutes without using their mobile, 18 per cent said they could only go an hour, while 16 per cent said they could make it to four hours. Only two in 10 people said they could last a day.