It’s official – men really would prefer to struggle with a gadget for hours instead of spending five minutes reading the instructions, according to new research.
Almost 60 per cent of blokes admit to trying to get their head around a new gadget by themselves rather than looking at the manual compared to just 26 per cent of women.
And it will be even less surprising to learn that the main reason men do this is because they simply can’t be bothered to read the information provided, according to the poll by Energizer.
A lazy two per cent of men will even get someone else to read the instructions and then tell them what to do.
Almost 10 per cent of the 1,998 people surveyed end up giving up and handing the gadget to their partner to figure out.
But it’s not just men who are at a loss when it comes to gadgets as millions of parents are being shown how to work things by their own CHILDREN.
A third of parents admit to being so out of touch with modern technology that their kids are telling them how gadgets work.
One clueless parent described how she and her partner spent hours trying to get a gadget to work, only to be told what the problem was by their FOUR-YEAR-OLD daughter – they had the batteries in the wrong way round.
But the lack of technological know-how means the average Brit is spending 45 minutes trying to get a gadget to work on when they are given one as a present on birthdays and Christmas Day.
Parents spend an average of 30 extra minutes spent trying to get their heads around out their kids presents.
Some worry so much about being able to work them that 35 per cent of parents will even get the toys and gadgets out before wrapping them up to make sure they know how they work.
But not reading the instructions means millions of Brits don’t know how to do everything the gadget is capable of – despite spending an average of £43 on each device.
The frustrations of trying to get something working can cause even more trouble in our homes with a third of people saying they often end up rowing with a relative about how it works.
Even more arguments are caused when people forget to buy batteries with the poll revealing that 67 per cent have been left disappointed when they have been given a gadget but no batteries.
Almost one in five parents have left their kids disappointed by forgetting the batteries for their new toys.
A spokesman for Energizer said: “We often joke about men’s reluctance to read instruction and now we have the proof that this really is the case.” “As a nation we often spend a lot on out gadgets without really understanding their full potential. Energizer has developed its Ultimate Lithium battery which is ideal for high-tech gadgets, so once you do get your gadget working (and understand how to use it) you can enjoy it for longer.”