One in four Brits (24%) admit they would feel anxious, upset, or lonely – if they didn't have access to any sort of digital connection over Christmas time, a study has found.

A survey of 2,000 adults, who celebrate the holiday season, found that nine in 10 plan to use digital devices this year to stay in touch with loved ones – with text messaging (78%) and social media (48%) among the most popular ways of doing so.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) will take photos of their festivities, with 46% sharing these snaps with friends and family – while three in 10 will send video messages, or voice notes (15%), to their nearest and dearest.

And other ways digital Brits plan to use tech this Christmas include managing their finances (45%), and for online shopping deals (51%).

Having a digital connection at this time of year is most important for Gen Z adults, aged 18-24 – with 88% saying they would be disappointed if they couldn't get online on Christmas Day.

And a fifth of this age group would go as far as to say the big day would be ruined if they weren't able to spend time online. This is because 44% of younger adults will film themselves opening their presents, in order to share online for absent family and friends to see.

Meanwhile, just one in three 25-33-year-olds will do the same thing – with this further dropping to 12% of 55-64-year-olds, and just 10% of over-65s.

Younger adults will also spend the day video-calling friends and family, doing so while playing games, or even while tucking into their Christmas dinner.

But when it comes to the older generation, half of the over-65s (51%) would not be bothered if they couldn't get online on December 25th – with just 4% of this age group saying this would ruin their day.

The research was commissioned by Vodafone UK, and comes as the mobile network announced it has now helped two million digitally excluded people and businesses cross the digital divide, working with partners including The Trussell Trust and Good Things Foundation.

Nicki Lyons, from the mobile network, said: “We're committed to closing the digital divide all year round – and at Christmas, we know that being connected to loved ones is more important than ever.”

The research also found that 58% of parents, whose children who believe in Father Christmas, will be using tech to track his movements – such as a Santa tracker website or app (49%), and a Ring doorbell (18%).

In addition, 25% are planning to gift someone a connected device this Christmas – with the most popular items being smartphones (14%), tablets (10%), and laptops (9%).

Helen Milner OBE, Group CEO at Good Things Foundation, said: “As the cost-of-living crisis intensifies in the lead-up to Christmas, our National Digital Inclusion Hubs are seeing more demand than ever before for their services.

“With this new research outlining the scale of the problem, the ability to connect with family and friends this festive season, alongside access to basic services and employment opportunities, should not be a luxury.”

People can support the campaign this Christmas by playing Elf & Seek – an augmented reality game, which gives people the chance to gift one of 50,000 SIM cards to those in need, donated by Vodafone on their behalf.

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