The study – originally launched in 2006 and now on its fifth wave – questioned 5,100 UK adults aged 15+ on how they were spending their time, their opinions and the role of media in their lives.

Key findings included:

• 12% time now spent social networking, compared to 5% in 2012
• Percentage of adults using internet each week now 86%, compared to 80% in 2012
• Average daily time spent online risen from 1hour 56 mins in 2012 to 2 hours 27 mins in 2014
• 48% consumers own a smartphone; 27% own a tablet
• 49% of adults use a mobile phone for any other activity aside from talking and texting each week, compared to 78% of all 15-24s
• 15-24 year olds are 69% more likely to social network through a laptop/desktop and 97% more likely to social network through a smart phone than an average adult

Lynne Robinson, research director at IPA, said: “Our lives are changing at an unprecedented rate, and as the new TouchPoints5 data clearly shows us, emerging technologies are revolutionising how we communicate, how we entertain ourselves, and how we spend our time and money.

“These changes are been spearheaded by the younger age groups whose mobile devices are the dominant force in their lives.”

Other findings can be accessed here, via the Life Mapper interface and data analysis tool, developed by Kinetic Worldwide and launched today.