Smartphone is 'most important consumer invention' of 21st Century so far

The smartphone is by far the most important consumer invention of the 21st Century so far, according to a new survey.

Research found 55% of people agreed it was the most significant consumer invention of the century.

The iPad came second and Facebook was third in the survey by YouGov.

Wikipedia and YouTube scored particularly well with people in the 18 to 24 aged range.

"There's no doubt among British people that the smartphone is this century's best consumer invention so far – over twice as many choose it as any other," YouGov said.

The 1,736 people who took part in the survey were asked to choose up to three inventions they thought were the most significant.

Smartphones topped the charts across all age groups, while Tinder came bottom of the available options.

The iPad did particularly well with those aged 40 and over, while Facebook was more popular with people aged 18 to 39.

Of those aged 18 to 24, 23% chose YouTube, compared to just 3% of those aged 60 and over.

Selfie sticks and Uber both gained just 1% overall, while the iPod, Netflix and Twitter received a 5% share each.

You can view the full results of the poll by clicking here.