Brits obsessed with tech on Christmas Day

Brits will spend at least an hour of their Christmas day scrolling through websites, two hours watching TV and an hour playing on games consoles.

A study of 2,000 adults found a quarter will share their festive celebrations on social media as they happen.

In comparison, around 91 minutes is spent cooking with 46 minutes spent unwrapping presents and an hour taken up with playing board games.

An average of 75 minutes is then spent eating Christmas dinner.

The research, commissioned by full fibre broadband provider Hyperoptic, also found 41 per cent class watching TV with their family as a big part of their Christmas day.

Almost a third will sit down to watch the Queen’s speech, while 40 per cent amuse themselves with comedies and three in five opt for festive films.

Technology is clearly a big part of modern celebrations, with a quarter admitting one of the first things they do when they wake up on the big day is look at their phone.

And two fifths admitted to ‘relying’ on the internet to buy their Christmas gifts.

Charles Davies, Hyperoptic’s MD ISP said: “It’s interesting to see how much time we spend online on Christmas day, from downloading and streaming entertainment to researching cooking tips and sharing pictures from the day online.

“With the modern family often living in different cities and even countries, a quality connection on Christmas day is important to keep in touch with loved ones.

“People are likely to send well wishes via online messaging or video calls and children will want to play with their new gifts, many of which will need to connect to Wi-Fi or be streamed.

“Whether it’s for entertainment purposes, advice on cooking the turkey or to keep up to date with others, it’s hard to imagine an internet free Christmas in 2019.”

The research also found a sixth of those polled have tried to avoid social media on December 25th in the past, but failed.

Three in 10 rely on the internet for video calling friends and relatives who live abroad almost half keep in touch with others via online messaging.

Similarly, an eighth have had a phone call over Wi-Fi, such as on WhatsApp, and three in 10 have sent a Christmas wish over a private Facebook message.

As a result, having a high quality internet connection is important to 52 per cent of those polled, particularly when prepping Christmas dinner.

More than a third have searched online for recipes and a fifth have watched YouTube videos to assist them while preparing and making the big meal of the day.

‘How long to cook turkey for?’ is the most popular online search, along with ‘how to achieve crispy potatoes?’ and ‘what can be cooked ahead of the big day?’.

Jamie Oliver tops the list of most searched for chef’s recipes, followed by Gordon Ramsay and Delia Smith, according to the OnePoll data.