Condom manufacturer Durex has revealed the hugely anticipated smartphone technology that could change our sex lives forever.

The brand sparked mass speculation a week ago by promising a 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, 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 follows some of these beta testers on their emotional journey, highlighting the serious issue that we are becoming enslaved to technology – as one man says to his boyfriend: ‘You’re cheating on me – with Twitter!’ It has been released alongside a study by Durham University, 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 per cent of those interviewed have delayed sex because of technology, largely smart phones and tablets, while 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. One participant said: ‘Sometimes I’ll be on Facebook and he’ll be on a sporting app while we are both in bed; we realise that we are literally sitting in bed together, but living in different worlds.’

Ukonwa Ojo, Head of Global Brand Equity at Durex said: ‘With technology playing such a pivotal role in our personal lives and relationships, we asked if it could be utilised in a positive way to enhance our sex lives, but in doing so we discovered the most effective answer can be the simplest. After consulting countless experts, academic research and qualitative interviews, the solution turned out to be a straightforward one – we should disconnect to reconnect.’

App entrepreneur and CEO of Siren Mobile, Susie Lee, added: ‘Of course, tech can never really replace human interaction. True chemistry comes from intimacy. So while we need our tech – it has enhanced our lives, enabling us to reconnect with old friends, reach wider social groups and meet new people – we need to recognise the times and places when social networking doesn’t enrich our experience. We really need to learn to focus on each other in the bedroom, rather than on our smartphones or tablets.’