Happiness is resisting answering your mobile: People who can ignore texts or calls are likely to be more contented

If you are constantly on your mobile phone,

most onlookers might think you have lots of

friends and a busy social life.

However, those attached to the phone are

likely to be less happy than those who can

resist a ring or a message alert, says a study.

Avid mobile phone users also suffer from

higher anxiety while students see their class

work suffer with lower marks than those who

are able to switch off.

Researchers studied more than 500 students

to look at their daily phone usage and gauge

how it affected their outlook on life.

They found that far from making people feel

more connected to friends the phone only

heightened their anxiety as many felt

obligated to keep in constant touch.

They found users suffered heightened anxiety

as many felt obligated to keep in constant

touch.

Others had trouble disconnecting from social

media sites such as Facebook.

The study by scientists Jacob Barkley, Aryn

Karpinski and Andrew Lepp is in stark contrast

to previous research that found mobile

phones improve social interaction and help

reduce feelings of isolation.

Previous research has claimed that mobile

phones improve social interaction and help

reduce feelings of isolation.

But the latest study by Kent University in Ohio

found constant phone use was linked to

greater stress.

One student said: 'The social network

sometimes just makes me feel a little bit tied

to my phone.

'It makes me feel like I have another

obligation in my life.'

Another complained that having a mobile

phone meant that he could always be

contacted at any time.

The researchers used a clinical measure of

anxiety and each student's level of satisfaction

with their own life in the analysis.

Researcher Andrew Lepp added: 'There is no

me time or solitude left in some of these

students' lives and I think mental health

requires a bit of personal alone time to

reflect, look inward, process life's events, and

just recover from daily stressors.'

Those taking part, aged from 18 to 22,

allowed the study team to access their exam

results, known in the US as a grade point

average (GPA), from university records.

'Also, a few of the students we interviewed

reported sending texts constantly throughout

the day from morning to night that in itself

might be stressful.'

There are now more mobile phones in the UK

than people with the latest figures showing

80.2 million subscription.

The popularity in recent years of smart

phones, such as the iPhone, has meant that

94 per cent of all adults own a mobile.