After a week of global speculation, Durex has revealed the hugely anticipated smartphone technology that could change our sex lives forever…

And it’s the off button.

The world’s leading sexual well-being brand sparked mass speculation on March 3rd by teasing an imminent technological breakthrough in partnership with Siren Mobile to improve people’s sex lives around the world. Hundreds of thousands of people visited the ‘Durexlabs’ website to find out more, with excitement amplified by global media and social networks.

But in a moving and enlightening video released yesterday, couples who volunteered to test the technology, eager to give their love lives an uplift, were surprised to learn the answer lay in a simple switch that had been right in front of them all along – the off button.

The video, which is rapidly gaining interest online, follows some of these beta testers on their emotional journey, highlighting the serious issue that we are becoming enslaved to technology. It has been released alongside a study by Durham University commissioned by Durex, which reveals that pervasive use of technology in relationships is seriously impacting how often we have sex, even cutting intercourse short and causing tensions in relationships.

Researchers from Durham’s Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities revealed that 40% of those interviewed have delayed sex because of technology, largely smart phones and tablets, with others reported hurrying sexual activity in order to respond to messages.  Moreover, a third of the couples interviewed admitted to interrupting sex to answer their phone.

“What this research reveals and the point the video makes is that technology now consumes our relationships at a much deeper level. It’s made its way into the bedroom in more ways than we imagined, often with benefits, but also coming with potentially serious costs to relationships, as it can cause frustration and tension, and encroach on sexual activity,” Dr. Mark McCormack, Co-Director of the Centre for Sex, Gender and Sexualities at Durham University, commented.