Is the mobile phone becoming the most important thing in our lives? Perhaps, so, if the findings of a recent study are to be believed. Nearly a third (32%) of Britons admitted in a recent study that they cannot live without their mobile phones. Further, 50% respondents said that their mobile phone is the first thing they check in the morning while 43% said it is the last thing they check before bed at night.
These statistics form part of the findings of a study on how the mobile is affecting our social interaction and relationships. The study has been conducted by 34SP.com, a UK-based web hosting company and is based on data collected in August 2015 from a random selection of 1,000 males and females aged 18 – 65 years.
Results reveal the dominance that mobile phones have come to exercise on our lives. While 30% respondents said their mobile phone is the main device they use to access the internet, 25% said their mobile is the main device they use to read the news. While mobile phones have brought us into contact with those we want to talk to, ironically it has resulted in making us less social. The study brings out that 33% of Britons admitted that their phone makes them a less sociable person; 40% said they have used their mobile phone to avoid conversing.
The study also asked respondents a couple of questions on their relationships with mobile apps. Findings show that 20% of people regularly delete apps within just three months of downloading them, while 39% often delete apps because they’ve been ‘useless’. This shows the challenge app developers face in being relevant to the users not once, but over a period of time.