Most people admit they are ‘constantly’ looking at a screen and crave a simpler, slower lifestyle, according to a major global study.

The findings emerged in a survey of more than 16,000 participants in 20 countries, described as the largest of its kind.

The inaugural Ipsos Mori Global Trends Report covered attitudes to technology, privacy, tradition, health, simplicity, globalisation, inequality, trust and brands.

Giving an insight into the huge role played by technology in our lives, an average of six in 10 people quizzed agreed with the statement “I am constantly looking at screens these days”.

Overall six in 10 said they wished their lives were simpler, three in four (77 per cent) believe the world is changing too fast, while more than half (55 per cent) wish they could slow down the pace of their lives.

The report also revealed a conflict between what people say and how they act with regard to their privacy

Two in three (64 per cent) of the respondents around the world said they believe people led happier lives in the old days when they had fewer problems to cope with.

Just under half of those surveyed reported feeling “overwhelmed” by the choices they have as a consumer and “all the choices about how to live my life”.

Despite an apparent frustration with the influence of technology in their lives, the report suggests most people acknowledge how crucial it has become.

Across the countries, six in 10 people agreed that technology is necessary “because only this can help to solve future problems”.

The report also revealed a conflict between what people say and how they act with regard to their privacy.

While nearly half of people across the 20 countries say they are willing to pay for increased levels of privacy for their data, two-thirds admit they do not bother fully reading terms and conditions on a website before accepting them.

Although most people living in 2014 want to live life on their own terms, traditions are still seen as an important part of society by more than three in four respondents.

The survey of adults was conducted last September in China, India, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, S. Korea, South Africa, Italy, Australia, Poland, America, Russia, Canada, Britain, France, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Belgium and Japan.