There's no denying that Brits love the phone. Nearly 50% of the population spend five hours a week with a receiver to their ear, according to research commissioned by uSwitch.com.

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Just to prove the point about how the UK is a nation of gasbags, here are some facts about British behaviour:

• Nearly 50% of Brits spend five hours a week on the phone.
• A third of Brits spend 30 minutes on each phone call.
• 40% of consumers said waiting on hold when they're paying for the call causes the most stress whilst they're on the phone. Nearly 20% said being transferred from person to another made them feel stressed.
• Nearly half of the male population (41%) has used the telephone to ask someone out on a date.
• A third of Britons have made a phone call to a partner or friends whilst under the influence.
• Two thirds of those aged 25 to 34 admitting to making drunken calls to their lover or friends. A surprising 43% of those people 'who should know better', (aged between 35 and 44) also owned up to ringing their friends or partners whilst drunk.
• Over a third of 'drunken' men (34%) said they have had to be reminded the next day that they made a call and unsurprisingly, more than half (55%) have had to have their memories jogged as to exactly what they said!
• 39 per cent of young consumers questioned (aged 15 - 24) have had someone say I love you for the first time over the phone.
• 40 per cent of consumers aged 25 - 34 admitted they give their 'conversational' partner the silent treatment if they lose their temper over the phone.
• 54 per cent of older Brits (aged 45 - 54) would hang up if they lost their cool on the phone.