More than seven in 10 people use their smartphone as soon as they wake up, new research has found.
A total of 96% of respondents say they own a smartphone, which is up from 94% last year.
The Deloitte Consumer Trends report found mobile phones are now the preferred device for browsing shopping websites, making online purchases, online searches, banking and playing games.
The report also found that about two-thirds of adults (67%) wish they spent less time on their devices.
The 67% finding is up significantly from 51% a year ago, with 18 to 34 year olds more likely than any other age group to think they are using their smartphones and other devices too much (82%).
Women are also more likely to want to reduce time spent on their devices with 74% expressing this view compared with 61% of men.
A young woman texting with her mobile phone in June 2019. Image: Westend61 GmbH / Alamy Stock PhotoA total of 98% of 18 to 75 year olds use their smartphone every day, with more than one-third doing so during mealtimes and 74% saying they do so as soon as they wake up compared with 59% a year ago.
The survey shows the percentage of people who check their phone at least 50 times a day remains at 36% while the percentage who check theirs at least 100 times is also unchanged at 16%.
Half of respondents (52%) say they tend to stay awake later than planned because they use their devices into the night.
Deloitte's John Kehoe told Breakfast Briefing there has been quite a jump in a 12-month period.
"It's definitely something that people are doing every day and first thing in the morning," he said.
"People are definitely aware that they feel like they're using it more.
"It's certainly commonplace that people are using it during mealtimes as well, which is interfering with normal social activity."
Asked if he believed that Irish people are addicted to their phones, Mr Kehoe replied: "I think we are - the survey says that 96% have our phone, 98% use it every day.
"It's definitely the main device that we have, it's overtaken laptops and tablets for pretty much everything we do online.
"We've seen that trend over the last number of years".
A woman using a smartphone on July 29th 2015. Image: NicoElNino / Alamy Stock PhotoThe study found people would like to be able to do more with their phone, such as integrate their passport or driving licence.
Mr Kehoe said things are moving that way.
"People feel that they're spending too much time on their phones but they want to do more," he said.
"The Deloitte survey has found nearly one-third of people want to see digital IDs, so using your [phone to access your] passport, drivers licence.
"The European Union are looking at that - they have the digital wallet and they're looking at how the next iteration of the driving licence is going to be integrated into the digital phone.
"Essentially it's a verified way of carrying your IDs, similar to the way you've a verified way of carrying your ATM card," he added.
Emojis on a smartphone. Image: Rosemary Roberts / Alamy Stock PhotoA total of 18% would like to use their smartphone to unlock their house and 17% to unlock their car.
There has also been an increase in the number of people who own wearables such as smartwatches, (50% to 67%), and Smart TVs (66% to 71%) in the last year.
One-in-five respondents (20%) say they have an external security camera or video doorbell, up from 16% a year ago.
The survey also included questions on entertainment. A total of 74% of respondents have access to video streaming services with the average person having more than two.
Netflix is still the market leader at 62% and Disney+ continues to grow, up 3 percentage points to 36% compared to 33% in 2022.
Close to one-quarter (24%) of respondents cancelled a video streaming service in the last 12 months, with the main reason being that it wasn’t used enough.
