Social media is the most disliked creation of the last 20 years among British consumers, with 33 per cent of people wishing that TikTok had never been invented, according to research from Uswitch.com.

After TikTok, the second, third, and fourth least popular inventions were all social media platforms also, as 30 per cent of people would rather Facebook never existed, followed by Twitter (27 per cent) and Instagram (23 per cent).

Perhaps surprisingly, the hatred towards social media platforms is fairly consistent across age group. 30 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 wish TikTok was never created, compared with 31 per cent for 35 to 54-year-olds, and 38 per cent for over-55s.

“Some social media sites are less about sharing news and more about showing off, which could explain why so many people wish that TikTok had never been invented,” said Ernest Doku, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com.

“It’s interesting to see that antipathy towards TikTok is not just the preserve of older generations, with 30 per cent of millennials also wishing that it had never been invented.”

The survey of 2,000 UK adults also found that consumers are spending more on gadgets than ever, despite the costs of laptops and televisions falling since the year 2000. On average, UK households spend £8,500 on their gadgets, compared to £3,400 20 years ago. This spending has seen the number of gadgets increase from eight in 2000 to 11 this year on average. 56 per cent own a tablet computer, 53 per cent of homes have a smart TV, 29 per cent own a smart speaker, and 18 per cent have a smartwatch, to list a few of the gadgets now in our homes.

67 per cent of people feel technology has made life easier over the last 20 years, and 78 per cent say it has helped them keep in touch with loved ones. Despite this, only 45 per cent believe technology has made the world a better place.

“Household gadgets have come a long way since the year 2000, when mobile phones were a novelty and we were only just discovering the joys of the internet,” said Doku. “It was a simpler time of Tamagotchis, Walkmans and the greatly missed Ceefax service, which would have celebrated its 46th anniversary on Wednesday.

“Now we can browse the web from the smartphones in our pocket and watch television or films on the go.

“It’s exciting to think what new technology we’ll be using in 20 years, although many of us will be hoping that certain social media sites are long extinct.”