Nearly one in three Australians – about five million people – are getting rid of their phones in two years or less, according to a new Finder survey.

Most are upgrading their handsets due to battery issues, a potential sign of planned obsolescence forcing consumers to stay on the technology train.

Press PLAY to hear more about our addiction to binning mobile phones

Leading technology commentator Trevor Long told Karl and Gena on 6PR Breakfast people often don’t think about the inherent value of the devices in their hands.

“They’re just stitched into our phone plans; our telco’s email us and tell us we’re entitled to a new phone, and we just go, ‘Yeah cool, I’ll get a new one,’ and we just cycle through them,” Mr Long said.