Telstra Smartphone and Tablet Index 2014 has revealed that smartphone ownership has more than doubled in four years in Australia.
According to the index, three quarters of the population now owns a device, with about 84 per cent of the users taking their smartphone wherever they go and 71 per cent never having time out from their device by turning it off, News.com.au reported.
Telstra's director of digital media and content Adam Good said that the phone has become an important tool and people would rather leave their house without their keys than without their phone, as they look at their phones about 150 times a day whether that's for content, media experiences, email or the clock.
He added that behaviour has changed, things that might have been done on desktop like emailing, banking or planning overseas holiday are now being transferred onto the small screen.
Good continue that he gets worried when people have to walk and peer at their screens and there are all sorts of challenges when people attempt to Facebook and do their driving.
Australian Communications and Media Authority spokesman Hugh Clapin said that Australia is almost at saturation for mobile phones now and smartphones are looking like they will be at saturation at 91 per cent of people having them by 2017.