Technology causing Brits to see red

73% of us have howled at our hardware

1 August 2008 14:58 GMT / By Katie Scott

It seems our gadgets know exactly which buttons to press to get our blood boiling.

According to a new survey commissioned by IT pros, The Geek Squad, IT rage now exceeds road rage as Britons get their wires crossed.

Three-quarters of people have hurled a gadget in a fit of rage(73%) and the same number have admitted to swearing (75%) or losing their temper with their computer.

The survey revealed that technology-induced frustration or "plug and panic", has overtaken road rage in the rankings of what really, really annoys us.

The research has revealed that IT users feel dumb - thinking they rather than the devices, are at fault.

81% of respondents say they wish technology was easier to understand and more than half (52%) found connecting devices more confusing than mortgages.

Indeed - more than half of Brits find setting up their computer more stressful than assembling flat pack furniture (53%).

A stressed out 1 in 10 people say they've turned to alcohol to cope with technology meltdown, while a fifth of people admitted to simply turning off the gadget that has gone wrong and hoping it will fix itself.

66% of people feel more angry when they lose their internet connection than when their football team loses an important match (6%)

But the survey also revealed that 48% of people have more than 10 gadgets in their home so there's lots more fits of tech-fuelled anger to come.