Family life is being disrupted because parents and children are overwhelmed by the huge volumes of emails and social messaging updates they are handling each day, according to a new study.

As a result one in three of us are now desperate to cut down our use of Twitter and Facebook as well as emails.

Surprisingly the study, by Cambridge University, found children as well as adults preferred to communicate face to face. More than half of all families said a 'technology-free' time is important and a third of parents said technology had disrupted family life.

The findings led family groups to warn that if parents end up spending more time checking emails and social networks than with their children it could have a detrimental effect on the home.

Amongst children aged 10 to 18, who have grown up with new technology, 38% admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the volume of messages. Similar numbers of adults felt the same way, with 34 per cent of 25 to 34 year olds agreeing.

Justine Roberts, founder of parenting website Mumsnet, warned: 'Social media is something we have to keep a watch on because it can eat into your life.

'We encourage our members to switch off because otherwise you can't give your kids and husband the time they need.'

She added: 'Websites like Facebook and Twitter can be enjoyable and addictive but, like with everything, it needs to be taken in moderation.'

The survey also discovered that 43 percent of children and 33 percent of adults are taking steps to reduce their reliance on messaging, text and networking.

But only one in five said they would be reducing the number of text messages they are sending and even less said they will be writing fewer emails.

Nearly 43 percent said they have had a cull of their Facebook 'friends' and followers on Twitter in an attempt to cut down on the amount of time spend on the websites.

As part of the research, 63 families were asked to keep a diary of their use of communications technology. More than 1,250 adults were questioned in the research which was paid for by BT – the biggest broadband provider in the country.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)