Cellphone use has made people forget how to walk in straight lines, walk more slowly, and of course become threats to public safety while driving. Last week, several people (including me) scratched their heads when Sergey Brin argued that smartphones were “emasculating.”

Well, the joke was on us. Cue the new study!

A quarter of men admit to sitting down on the lavatory to urinate so they can have both hands free to use their mobile phones, a survey has claimed….

Three quarters of people of both sexes polled said they used their phone while on the lavatory, and half said they took their handset with them when they had a bath.

The survey found that 59 per cent of people admit to texting while on the lavatory and 45 per cent to sending emails.

Almost a third (31 per cent) admitted they had taken a mobile phone call and nearly a quarter (24 per cent) said they had made a call while on the lavatory, according to the poll by Sony and O2.

Granted it’s a survey of 2,000 people in Britain, so my American readers can think snarky things about the masculinity baseline of the surveyed population, but still.

I also loved this little bit:

When asked why they use their phones in the bathroom, most said it was due to not having anything better to do.

Umm…