British people are more easily triggered today because of modern technology, poll claims

Slow email replies, long waits at traffic lights and bad internet connection all to blame for lowering patience levels, says poll

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Britons’ patience thresholds have plummeted thanks to modern conveniences such as same-day delivery, fast internet speeds and social media, a poll has claimed.

Three-quarters of people believe technological advances like e-ticketing, smartphones and on-demand TV have made them increasingly impatient.

And this lack of fortitude dominates almost all aspects of life, including travel, food, entertainment, work and more.

Researchers polling 2,000 adults found they started to grumble after waiting 25 seconds for a traffic light to change and 16 seconds for a web page to load.

And they became frustrated when waiting any longer than 35 minutes for a delayed train.

The survey was commissioned by the BIC pen company.

It claimed that 38 per cent of people had lost patience trying to write fast enough to keep up when taking notes during lessons at school or work meetings.

And Britons began to lose their cool in just 20 seconds waiting for the ink on a greeting card to set, it claimed.

Adults became similarly frustrated if a TV show or film did not stream “properly” within 22 seconds and if they could not locate a pen within just 18 seconds.

Even the British pastime of tea drinking can be cumbersome – with respondents becoming restless if the kettle takes more than 28 seconds to boil.

Jo Hollins, head of marketing at BIC UK and Ireland, said: “Our research highlighted that we’re happy waiting just 2.8 days for an online grocery order to arrive, and 3.7 for a cherished handwritten bit of mail.

“Thanks to technology, modern life moves faster than ever but it also seems we’re still willing to wait that little bit longer for a good old-fashioned handwritten letter – an extra day in fact.”

SWNS