Recently in social networking Category

Move over Romeo and Juliet, there is a new love story in town.

Forget wasting £5, or even £15, on an oversized novelty stuffed teddy this Valentine's Day, even if it sings Unchained Melody when you push its paw. Dave Lee, of the BBC, found that for only $5 you can buy make-believe online love.

Yes, you read the headline right, more than half of people regularly use their mobile devices in bed, with 5% shockingly using their mobile while in the middle of having sex with their partner.*

Narly half check their social networks and emails on their mobile devices instead of listening to their partner, while 40% use their phones while sat on the toilet - please remember to wash your hands!

So apparently 45% of people admit that technology prevents them from ever truly switching off and relaxing in their spare time. Well we don't know about relaxing, but if there's a drop in birth rates next year, we can all blame the iPhone 5.

*Study conducted by UK technology manufacturer, Storage Options

Domain name registrar Names.co.uk has announced a nationwide search. It hopes to uncover the Worst Domain Names registered on the web by businesses and it has already discovered a handful that you'll find below. 

Downtime is sure you, like us, wished buying presents for people was as easy as buying for a chocoholic. We know all too well that there are only so many pairs of socks you can buy for a person before they start harbouring genuine resentment toward you. 

I'm sure you all remember but just in case you don't I'll jog your memory. Back in August, Downtime posted a story about a competition that was taking place in Finland.

Over one million Finns have found themselves unable to resist the lure of watching four strangers live in diggers. 

Over the past two months the four men, who've been constantly streaming live video and interacting with their viewers, have been sleeping, eating and drinking in the diggers. They are only allowed 30 minutes per day for bathroom breaks.

They aren't just doing this for the fun of it, oh no, the last man standing wins the £28,000 digger they they have been temporarily living in.

One of the contestants, Kimmo Frisk, said, " one guy contacted me through the internet and suggested I come to his house and have fun with a naked cow and a chicken. I didn't take him up on his invitation."

Another contestants, Arto Kojonen, said, "being online constantly, I've made a lot of new friends so I don't feel lonely. I'm having lots of fun doing this - and it's a great way to meet women."

This is not the first digger and social media match-up that has been successful in Finland. Last year Jukka Mutanen drove a mini digger, with a top speed of 4km/hour, 1000km across Finland whilst broadcasting the whole thing live online.

Don't be surprised if you see a celebrity version of this commissioned for Channel Five next year.

BT's former chief scientist JP Rangaswami has three teenage children, he told delegates at the annual Intellect Regent conference last week. So one night he gets home, opens the front door and hears the home phone ringing. It continues to ring.

"Why doesn't someone answer that phone," he grouses.

"We know it's not for us, Dad," comes the reply.

Even though the population is ageing, the landline phone is only an occasionally useful tool rather than something kids would prefer to have genetically engineered onto an ear. If it weren't for iPlayer, Downtime would be shorting BT shares.