New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS): Amid the pandemic, the daily time spent on smartphones has increased by 25 percent on average in India, a new study claimed on Monday.

While 66 per cent of Indians believe smartphone improves their quality of life, nearly 70 per cent of Indians feel that if their smartphone usage continues to increase, it is likely to impact their mental/physical health, according to the study by smartphone brand Vivo.

"Amid the socially-distant lives that the pandemic pushed us to lead, the smartphone emerged as the central nervous system for everything – be it working or learning from home or staying connected with friends and family," said Nipun Marya, Director-Brand Strategy, Vivo India.

Additionally, 74 per cent of respondents said that periodically switching off their mobile phone can help them spend more time with family. However, only 18 per cent of users have actually switched off their phone on their own.

According to study titled ‘Smartphones and their impact on human relationships 2020,' Indians are spending more time on smartphone since lockdown (April 2020) – OTT (59 per cent), social media (55 per cent) and gaming (45 per cent).

Meanwhile, 79 per cent users agreed that a smartphone helps them stay connected with their loved ones.

While smartphone emerged as a necessity and had given much-needed flexibility to people, its excessive usage has triggered addiction.

Nearly 88 per cent users agree that people point them out for using the phone when they are with them, 46 per cent people pick up the phone at least five times in an hour-long conversation.

The study, conducted by CyberMedia research (CMR) for Vivo, had 2,000 respondents aged 15-45 years.