Jun 30, 2014 07:00 PM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Many people spend a huge chunk of their life staring or thinking about their cellphones, and would feel "desperate" without their mobile devices, according to a recent study USA Today reported.

A survey by Bank of America found that 47 percent Americans would not last 24 hours without their smartphone. Many consider their cellphones more important than daily staples such as coffee and television

"Mobile phones have changed the way we live our daily lives, and that extends to our finances," Marc Warshawsky, senior vice president and mobile solutions executive at Bank of America, is quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal.

When ranked by level of importance to people's daily lives, smartphones fall below only the internet and hygiene. According to the report, 91 percent said their mobile device is as important as their car and deodorant.

The report also found that 90 percent of the youngest millennials -- ages 18-24 -- view their mobile devices as more important than deodorant and 93 percent of them cohort deemed them more important than even their toothbrush.

"We have all gotten so used to having these appendages, these devices that are almost like our other limb, that when they're not there we start to panic," Huffington Post's Executive Lifestyle Editor Lori Leibovich, who was not involved in the study, said during a conversation with HuffPost Live.

Mobile phones have become the way to connect with others, "repositories of crucial contact information and photos and entertainment devices," for many consumers, the Boston Globe reported.

The findings are a part of a study that "explores broad mobile trends and banking behaviors among adult consumers across the country who own a smartphone and have an existing banking relationship," the Wall Street Journal reported. 

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