More than a quarter of people admit to using their phone during sex, according to a new survey from Sciart Marketing and Hot Octopuss. 15.2% admit to texting during sex, and 5% are answering work emails. For women, the number jumps to 8.3% using phones for work during sex.
83% of people say that tech like TVs, phones, and notifications are actively getting in the way of intimate time. In the UK, adults check their smartphones on average every 12 minutes that’s about 80 times per day, spending nearly 3 hours and 30 minutes daily glued to their screens. These constant phone alerts are delivering variable dopamine hits that keep us looking even when we should be focused on each other.
“Technology should heighten pleasure, not hijack it,” said co-founder Adam Lewis at Hot Octopuss. “Use the right device at the right moment and you redirect that dopamine reflex towards intimacy.”
Sexologist April Maria said: “We’re overstimulated by screens and undernourished by connection. Phones are always within reach even in bed, but rarely used to encourage deeper intimacy. We’re not avoiding sex because we don’t want it. We’re avoiding it because we’ve forgotten how to be present in it”.
She added: “Our campaign Right Tech, Right Time is a wake-up call: let’s stop letting devices interrupt our desire and start using them to support it. The future of pleasure isn’t more distraction; it’s more connection”.
With up to 60% of men avoiding sex due to performance anxiety, and studies showing that sex-related anxiety affects up to 25% of men, the last thing they need is another distraction like work emails coming through their phone.
Adam said: “The Right Tech, Right Time campaign challenges consumers to rethink how and when we invite technology into the bedroom. It’s not about unplugging completely, it’s about plugging into the right thing at the right time”
