BEIJING — In a survey, 71.8 percent of respondents said they buy new mobile phones every two years or less on average.

A total of 16.8 percent said they change cellphones every year.

According to a survey published by the China Youth Daily Tuesday, among the 2,004 respondents, a total of 42 percent said they may upgrade their handsets even if there are no problems with their current phones.

More than 60 percent of them said brand is a major element when choosing a cellphone.

The newspaper said about 51.6 percent of the people surveyed were born in the 1980s, a total of 21.1 percent were born in the 1990s and 19.6 percent were born in the 1970s.

In the survey, about 82.4 percent of the people said smartphones have become an indispensable gadget in their lives, while they also heavily rely upon laptops, desktops and tablet computers.

About 63 percent of respondents said they would consider buying a new mobile phone if their old one has problems, while 42 percent said they might swap the old for new even though their old phone still works well.

Also, more than 32 percent said they would buy the latest model from their favorite brand.

While choosing a mobile phone, brand is the first element for most consumers, with other considerations being price, processor and camera performance, the survey said.

A total of 59.9 percent of survey respondents said smartphones and other digital products have made their lives more convenient, but 30.6 percent of the people also blamed them for the negative effects of their heavy reliance on such devices.