Face-to-face communication ‘no longer necessary’

Speaking to people face-to-face seems to be becoming a thing of the past, as more Britons realise they do not actually need the social skills to chat to strangers.

New research commissioned by benenden health found millions of people in the UK prefer to keep themselves to themselves.

It discovered one in five have not spoken to anyone they do not known for more than six months, while many individuals feel small talk is "unimportant".

Paul Keenan, head of communications at the health body, said: "To an extent, the rapid rise and ever-changing concept of online communication is naturally replacing traditional face-to-face contact."

One area in which this may be particularly true is dating, with plenty of people from all walks of life increasingly keen to search for lover on the internet.

It certainly makes sense to do so, with daters able to access thousands of potential matches by signing up to the most popular sites.