Teenagers Prefer Smartphones to Sex: Study

US teenagers are so touchy about their screens that they are willing to give up almost everything - even the pleasures of a sexual encounter - in exchange for their smartphones, a fascinating study indicates.

While 26 percent of teenager students in the US cannot live without their mobile phones, only 20 percent said they could not survive without sex, a recent survey showed.

Students spend more than five hours online daily, and often use more than five apps at any one time.

The increasing penetration of technologies have also changed the ways students prefer to learn.

Traditional lecture hall-based learning is a strict no-no for most of those who are accustomed to digital working on campus, the report added.

"Even while taking notes in lectures, nearly half of them (44 percent) said they would prefer to use mobile devices rather than writing them down in a notebook," The Huffington Post reported.

"In any university or college, being connected and mobile is now an essential part of life - both for work and play," Chris Kozup, senior director for Europe Middle East and Africa Marketing for Aruba Networks, was quoted as saying.