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| Image courtesy Jacobs Media |
My
friend Fred Jacobs posted a great story on his blog recently [link] about folks
of millennial age being addicted to their mobile phones. The bottom line is
that many millennials are so dependent on their devices they can’t go anywhere
without them.
Fred
combined data from a study by LivePerson [link], a company that tracks digital
device usage by consumers, with Jacobs Media’s Tech Survey 13. Tech Survey 13 examined device and platform
preferences of commercial radio listeners. Jacobs also does an annual Public
Radio Tech Survey (PRTS) but results of the 2017 study have not yet been
released.
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| Source: Jacobs' Tech Survey 13 |
The
chart on the right shows the differences between respondents of millennial age and those of
all ages to the statement I am addicted
to my mobile phone.
Sixty-three percent of the millennial age respondents
agreed or strongly agreed with the notion that they are addicted to their smartphones.
The
LivePerson study of more than 4,000 internet users, ages 18-34 in the US and
United Kingdom, concluded that nearly three- quarters of the respondents prefer
digital communications to face-to-face contact.
The
study had more than 4,000 Internet users in the 18-34 year-old demo
across six countries, including the United States. In both the UK and the US,
nearly three- quarters prefer digital communications to face-to-face contact. The
LivePerson study also found that two-thirds of the millennial age respondents
take their mobile devices with hem to the bathroom.
Jacobs
feels these findings are significant to the broadcasting industries because
smartphones have become the primary source of entertainment for millennials. When people are using mobile devices, chances are slim that they are listening to broadcast radio. Until manufacturers begin including and activating "FM chips" this usage pattern will continue.
DEEPER ANALYSIS OF MOBILE
DEVICE USE WHILE SITTING ON THE TOILET
I
found Jacobs’ factoids about mobile device usage in the bathroom intriguing, so
I searched online and found other research that confirms Jacobs’ findings.
One
of the best studies of this topic is on ViralBlog [link] – Toilet Talk: Cell Phone Usage In Restrooms. The study found:
•
75% of respondents admitted that they had used their mobile devices while on
the toilet. (Count me among that group
but, perhaps, that is more you wanted to know.
•
Gen Y respondents, millennials, are the most likely to use their devices while
on the toilet.
•
The most frequent activities while on the john are reading and texting.
•
Perhaps, most importantly, 92% of the respondents say they wash their hands
after using the bathroom but very few ever wash their phones. Mobile devices,
like TV remote control wands, are a major source of germs.
Heavy smartphone work can frequently be symptomatic of additional underlying problems, such as stress, anxiety, despair, or loneliness. Additionally, it may exacerbate these difficulties. If you are using your smartphone as the "security blanket" to alleviate feelings of nervousness, loneliness, or awkwardness in sociable situations, for instance, you'll succeed just in slicing yourself off more from individuals around you. Looking at your telephone will refuse you the face-to-face connections that will help to meaningfully hook up one to others, alleviate anxiousness, and increase your mood. Quite simply, the therapy you're choosing for the anxiety (participating together with your smartphone), is, in fact, making your nervousness worse.
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