Renowned for being ‘always on’, do Gen Yers ever take a break from their social circles? Are they addicted to Facebook? Have they really got no time for a phone call? Canvas8 sat down with Brits between the ages of 18 and 35 to find out how they really keep in touch.

Should brands be provocateurs? Why do we expect our social networks to work harder? How can shaming be a force for good? And why tuning out the things we don't want to hear is easier than ever.

The screenshot is how you save a digital memory. From displaying autocorrect errors to dodging Twitter’s character limit, it has become an easy and intimate way to communicate online. But what are the implications for brands? And what do they say about the users that share them?

Smartphones are no longer just a means of communicating. They wake us up, get us from A to B and even help us find love. We’ve almost forgotten their original purpose. Text trumps voicecalls and apps trump SMS – it’s a good time to ask – what’s the future of the mobile phone?

What if emails were limited to the same character count as a Twitter post? Toastio is a service that aims to streamline digital communication by limiting emails to 350 characters, which it hopes will encourage people to write emails that are straight to the point.

The number of teens who voice call on their phones every day dropped 50% between 2009 and 2012. Just 3% of UK Millennials now use the function daily. With texts, iMessage and WhatsApp becoming the preferred method of communication, can audio message app Cord get us talking again?

The explosion of interest in mobile messaging platforms has prompted heated competition to secure the largest and most loyal global user base. From LINE’s stickers to WeChat’s partnership with Lionel Messi, there’s a race to innovate, and fast.

With just 7% of communication being attributed to spoken words, and the remainder down to body language and tone of voice, it’s easy to see why communicating online has been described as cold and impersonal. Emoticons, emoji and stickers are helping make digital communication a bit more human.