Despite the health and hygiene risks, it has been revealed that half of UK adults take their mobile phone with them to the toilet.
Some 50 per cent of people surveyed for Direct Line Home Insurance said they do this, while one in six (16 per cent) take their tablet with them and four per cent use their games console.
Professor of microbiology Charles Gerba PhD and Kelly Reynolds PhD, a professor of environmental health, previously told BuzzFeed their thoughts on toilet mobile browsing.
They pointed out that bathrooms are covered in germs, pathogens and bacteria from the intestinal tract - mostly from faecal matter.
Reynolds told BuzzFeed: "When you flush the toilet, water with faeces and urine sprays about six feet in every direction.
"And the aerosols increase with every flush, so if it’s a public bathroom, there is dirty toilet water coating literally everything – especially the toilet paper dispenser, because it’s right next to the toilet bowl."
Besides the cleanliness, it seems plenty of people end up accidentally dropping their expensive gear down the pan, according to the survey of more than 2,000 people.
Two-fifths (40 per cent) have accidentally dropped an item down the toilet or sink, with mobile phones and jewellery being the most common items, followed by money, keys, debit and credit cards, and wrist watches.
Nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of those who dropped a piece of jewellery down a sink plughole or toilet could not retrieve it.
While the vast majority of people who dropped their mobile phone were able to retrieve it, in 43 per cent of cases it was damaged or broken.
Dan Simson, head of Direct Line Home Insurance, suggested people should check the terms of their insurance to see if they are covered for accidental damage.
He said: "As a nation we are so addicted to our mobile devices that we even take them to the toilet.
"Alongside the health risk of using these devices on the lavatory, taking them to the bathroom will be costly if they are dropped down the toilet or into the sink."
Here are the percentages of people surveyed across the UK who take their mobile with them to the toilet, according to Direct Line Home Insurance:
Belfast, 54%
Birmingham, 54%
Brighton, 51%
Bristol, 49%
Cardiff, 49%
Edinburgh, 55%
Glasgow, 50%
Leeds, 60%
Liverpool, 48%
London, 54%
Manchester, 47%
Newcastle, 50%
Norwich, 39%
Nottingham, 36%
Plymouth, 41%
Sheffield, 52%
Southampton, 45%
