It was observed that as this pattern of use takes flight so does stress. The more regularly someone checks a phone for personal reasons the more stress rises. Richard was quoted saying “Smartphones are being used more and more to help people cope with different aspects of their life, but the more they’re being used the more we’re actually becoming a bit dependent upon them, and actually courting stress instead of relieving it,” reported as-i-was-saying.com.

Balding also added “Now, certainly it’s good to keep connected, but everyone needs a break. Some time on your own. Otherwise there’s a risk that the stress and tension that builds up from keeping engaged can end up having a negative impact on relationships.”

Sonja Lyubomirsky, professor of psychology, University of California, Riverside, said the observations struck her as “reasonable" but more work is required to establish a true cause-and-effect. She says that "It could be that people who are already more stressed out and neurotic are more likely to check their phones compulsively in the first place, that people who have high stress levels to begin with are the ones who need to have their phones on all the time, so we need to see what's actually causing what."

She added that "Of course, there's lots of research that shows that truly living in the moment makes people happier.”And clearly we're less likely to savor the moment if we're checking the phone. But at the same time, it's not always a bad thing. It saves me time. It makes being in touch so much easier, and enables multitasking. So it's how you use the phone that matters, not the phone itself," reported The Telegraph.

Richard recommended that companies can help employees address the problem. He said that "Organizations will not flourish if their employees are stressed, irrespective of the source of stress, so it is in their interest to encourage their employees to switch their phones off; cut the number of work emails sent out of hours, and reduce people’s temptation to check their devices.”