Warning: handheld games can seriously damage your love life

We've all been there. In a romantic situation that's hard to stay, er, focused on when you've just heard a text message arrive. Or if we're playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass on the bus, train or tube and some staggeringly attractive commuter happens to be doing some lash-fluttering flirting from the opposite seat, and we find it really tough to tear our eyes away from the screen for long enough to actually notice.

It seems we're not alone in our romance-quashing love of gaming, though. At least according to a survey that's just been carried out by the Stuff Show.

Out of the 1,950 men polled, 30 per cent aged between 18 to 34 admitted to spending too much time using or playing on their mobile, handheld or portable gadgets, and 12 per cent revealed they wouldn't be able to leave their technology at home if they went away for a romantic weekend.

You think that's bad? Nine per cent confessed to thinking about important phone calls or texts during intimate moments – whatever helps, we suppose. But a remarkable 26 per cent admitted interrupting those special moments to actually answer a phone call or send a text. Which is something of a drastic and desperate tactic, frankly.

Londoners appear the most addicted, scoring the highest in dependency ratings for their gadgets. Figures.

Obviously we can go one better than this, having incorporated romantic weekends with actual gaming events (but that's a story for another time, perhaps). All we'll say is, if you find yourself wishing you're gazing into the eyes of Lara Croft, Master Chief or Sonic the hedgehog rather than your loved one, it's probably time to admit your priorities may have become a little scrambled.