Hold the phone — if you’re checking your cell during sex with your sweetie, it may be time to call it quits.
Nothing spoils a steamy roll in the hay like watching your partner roll over to answer a text message, take a call, or scroll through work emails mid-romp.
The foulness of a disruptive phone check notwithstanding, a whopping 1 in 5 daters admits to taking an extended peek at their devices while knocking boots with their boo, according to a study released Wednesday on the adverse effects phone fixation can have on partnered sex.
“People are now struggling to distinguish how to function without their smartphone in every aspect of their life — even in the bedroom,” report author and COO of used cell phone retailer SellCell.com Sarah McConomy tells The Post.
For the findings, the investigative team polled 5,018 US adult smartphone owners to analyze their cell usage and its impact on their romantic lives.
The results indicate that phone fanatics are more hooked on the exciting rush of receiving a notification than they are on the zing of sharing an intimate moment with an inamorato.
“People check their phones around 100 times a day and have a deeper intimacy with their phones than with their partner,” said McConomy. “Phones are now [the center of] their worlds and have become more important than the buzz released through sex.”
Her research revealed an uptick in the number of horn-hounds who regularly gawk at their screens while getting down and dirty in the sack.
In 2018, a survey on the tongue-n-cheek infraction showed that only a mere 1 in 10 cell freaks phoned it in during a risqué rendezvous.
McConomy believes phone dependency has become more prevalent due to the isolating pangs of the COVID-19 pandemic — when electronics served as a sole source of connection for most.
And she fears the habit may be unshakable in some cases.
“People are willing to check their phones when having sex as they have lost the ability to switch off from their mobile phone,” she said.
“During the pandemic, a disproportionate amount of our time [was dedicated to] increased levels of phone and tech use to stay connected with the outside world,” continued McConomy. “The pattern has cemented a reliance on our ‘handheld partners.’”
The study, too, highlights that a frightening 71% of men and women in relationships spend more time with their cells than their sweethearts, and a whopping 54% actually prefer snuggling up with their devices over their lovers.
Folks guilty of fondling their phones rather than their main squeezes have been unflatteringly deemed “phubbers” — a compound word, blending “phone” and “snubber” together to describe a person who snubs their significant other by constantly being glued to a cellphone.
A recent study from Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University in Turkey found that the act of phubbing is “a problematic behavior that can harm both the phubber and the phubbee,” which can lead to marital dissatisfaction.
McConomy hopes her statistics inspire rehabilitation in repeat phone offenders.
“The big concern is that smartphone addiction can affect intimacy [between partners],” she warned. “Without intimacy a void can be created in the relationship, which could lead to unhappiness and a loss of connection.”
Instead of jeopardizing a romance, McConomy suggests designating “no-phone zones” — with both partners agreeing to go completely screen-free.
“Bedrooms should be no-phone zone,” she insisted. “At least whilst having sex — or run the risk of a phubbing breakup.”