Nearly 70 per cent of under-25s will send an e-mail or text to somebody in the same house as them, a survey said.

The poll by electronics retailer Best Buy found their mundane messages ranged from announcing their arrival back home, asking for the kettle to be put on or even flirty messages to a loved one in the same room.

The research into trends in the home revealed the UK’s reliance on modern electronics. Some 52 per cent said they could not live without the internet, compared with just 19 per cent who opted for the washing machine.

Under-35s admitted the first electrical device they turn to after returning home from work was their laptop, followed by the TV and with the kettle sitting in third.

However, despite Brits becoming increasingly tech-savvy, half of those polled felt they were still not getting the most from modern technology. The figure was even higher among women, with only one in three feeling they were on top of their tech.

Kevin Styles, marketing director at Best Buy UK, said: “All of us now live and breathe in a digitised world. We communicate by text, we reach for the laptop as our window to the world, we download content in ever-increasing amounts – yet one in three of us still feels that we are not getting the most out of today’s technology.

“Digital advances can make our lives easier, more fun, more productive and better connected.”