Tangled earphones or ads without a "skip" button - the worst first world problems

Small cracks on the screen, losing mobile phone signal or running out of mobile data were some of the biggest modern life annoyances among British people. Picture: PASmall cracks on the screen, losing mobile phone signal or running out of mobile data were some of the biggest modern life annoyances among British people. Picture: PA
Small cracks on the screen, losing mobile phone signal or running out of mobile data were some of the biggest modern life annoyances among British people. Picture: PA
When problems become rare, we count more things as problems, as a study of the top 40 modern life inconveniences which get on the nerves Britons found.

Ever found the perfect username for social media, but someone else already snatched it? Does the small crack on your phone screen keep distracting you? How about websites with a contact form instead of an email address?

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These pet peeves were included in a study exploring the top 40 inconveniences of modern life according to Britons, highlighting the worst 'first world problems', many of which are connected to mobility and technology.

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According to three in four respondents, it's a typically British trait to complain about small things rather than finding solutions, whilst almost half admitted to enjoying a whinge over the inconveniences of modern life, including delays in public transport and card-only bars.

The study of 2,000 adults conducted via OnePoll was commissioned by O2 to launch their new unlimited data tariffs, combatting the issue of running out of data more than once in four months, which according to over one-in-three respondents, was one of the biggest annoyances linked to mobile phones.

A spokesperson for the mobile network provider explained: "Modern life is frustrating and it's usually the small, seemingly insignificant things which, over time, all add up to an even bigger frustration.

"These small things tend to have a knock-on effect for the day ahead - another reason why they can be so annoying."

"It's why we want to make things just that little bit easier and give our customers the option of having unlimited data, so they have one less worry to think about."

O2 is following in the footsteps of other providers including Three, Vodafone and EE, becoming the last of the major UK providers to launch its own Unlimited Data tariffs for 4G and future 5G customers.

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