2degrees boss: It might be time to put down the phone

2degrees chief executive Stewart Sherriff.

In a move that seems almost counter-intuitive, the boss of one of New Zealand's largest telecommunications providers is urging Kiwis to use their phones less.

Outgoing 2degrees chief executive Stewart Sherriff, who has been at the helm of the company for five years, took to Linkedin to urge Kiwis to talk to their families and friends about how much they're using their phones.

In his post, Sherriff quoted research in which 2degrees spoke to 2200 New Zealanders about their mobile use.

"One of the findings that challenged me personally was that 4 in 10 Kiwis said they think their partner spends too much time on their smartphone," Sherriff wrote.

Almost a third (32 per cent) of those people said they think it is affecting the quality of their relationship.

"That's a number that really makes an impact. It's so easy to pick up your phone and scroll through it, and I suspect most of us do it almost subconsciously these days," Sherriff said.

Research last year found that every day we unlock our phones 28 times, with a third of the time being compulsive and unnecessary.

Nielsen research last year also showed that Kiwis spend close to 11 hours per month browsing Facebook, much of it via a mobile phone.

Earlier this month, Facebook and Instagram announced they would be launching a set of tools to help users manage their time on the social media platforms.

Encouraging healthy use of their platforms has long been a priority for Facebook and Instagram.

In his post, Sherriff goes on to share a personal account, saying that after speaking to his wife, Mo, about his own mobile use habits, he decided to introduce some changes.

He said the pair had a chat about how they use their mobile phones and agreed that when at home in the evenings, he'll put down his device down and leave emails till the morning.

"She said she can notice a difference already," Sherriff said.

Sherriff's decision to share this story coincides with a nationwide 2degrees campaign dubbed 'Good Chat', which aims to encourage New Zealanders to talk to their loved ones about their mobile phone use.

In 2012, a global study by market research firm TNS found that there were more mobile phones in New Zealand (5,020,000) than the entire population at the time - 4,433,087.

In related news, Sherriff announced last week that he would step down from his role, but only once a replacement had been found.