The average person will spend more than three years updating social media over the course of their lives, a study claims.

Time spent on social media is significantly more than the 12 months the average person will spend in the pub.

While most people will spend 235 days standing in a queue, eight months laughing, five weeks arguing and 30 hours crying in their lives.

The survey, commissioned by Samsung, found people spend an average of three years and 10 days browsing social media such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

How Britons spend their lives

3 Years and 10 days updating social media

12 Months in the pub

235 Standing in a queue

5 Weeks arguing

The findings found a marked generational divide in how people spend their time.

The research highlighted the multi-tasking, "always-on generation" of under-40s who spend on average one hour and 47 minutes a day updating social media in comparison to 40 minutes spent by the over 65s.

Nine out of 10 people under 40 said they used multiple screens while based watching television, while 25% of those over 65 said they used more than one screen.

Social psychologist Dr Becky Spellman, who led the research, said the report shows people are busier now than at any other time in history.

"The 'always-on generation' of under 40's are working longer hours, have their diaries packed with social activities and are glued to multiple screen devices to stay constantly connected to the world via social media.

"Interestingly as we become a generation of people who find it hard to switch off, our brains are adjusting and making us even better multi-taskers.

"Our ability to juggle, manage and process information is growing at a substantial rate."