It’s
no secret that smartphones take up a large part of our time and attention
spans. Smartphones
are talking up a large part of our time and attention. Heck, just writing this
sentence, I glanced at my smartphones about 5 times!!
In an effort to understand people’s “phone-life balance" Motorola
has released results from a new survey that examines smartphone habits and its
impact relationships as reported in the article “Motorola’s
survey confirms we’re addicted to our smartphones” published 21 February 2018
by Brenda Stolyar, Digitaltrends.
Motorola
developed a global study in partnership Dr. Nancy Etcoff from Harvard
University and the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry.
Independent research company Ipsos undertook the survey on their behalf to look
at behaviors and phone use habits across generations.
This
was in an effort to understand how smartphones impact our relationships with
ourselves as well as others. So what did the study uncover that we didn’t
already know?
Motorola and Harvard
University – Problems in smartphone-land
The
study found that:
1. 33%
of respondents prioritize their smartphone over interacting with other people,
like friends and family
2. 53%
of Gen Z respondents described their phone as their best friend
3. 33%
admit to panicking when they have lost their smartphones
4. 29%
of participants also agreed they are already thinking about the next time they
will be able to use it
5. 50%
of the participants agreed they compulsively checked phone and felt the need to
do it constantly
Clearly
many who took this survey suffer from Nomophobia, which literally means a fear
of being without your smartphone as pointed out in my blog article
entitled “How
to deal with Smartphone Addiction as Wearables trend indicates it is getting
worse”.
Good
to note here are those of us hose born from the 1990s to the early 2000s,
effectively the so-called Millennial group!!
The
study also identified three key problematic smartphone behaviors:
1. Compulsive
checking
2. Excessive
phone time
3. Emotional
over-dependence
Also,
many recognize that this was a problem and are actively trying to quit or at
least want to find a balance as the survey further revealed:
1. 61%
of participants who agreed they want to use the phone more efficiently yet not
miss moments in their life
2. 30%
also agreed they spend too much time on their smartphones and said they'd be
happier if they cut back
3. 60%
said it was important to have a life separate from their phones
So
how and why did Motorola conduct this survey?
Motorola and Harvard
University - Smartphone Survey reveals Nomophobia is a real problem
This
research was very similar to one done by Antivirus maker Kaspersky Lab who
suggested that it is not only killing our relationships, but our ability to
think as well as our actions under the sheets as well as noted in my blog article
entitled “Kaspersky
Lab Smartphone Dependency Study suggests smartphones are killing Reasoning and
Sex”.
Motorola
recognizes that smartphone users are in need of a better phone-life balance.
With this knowledge, in an effort to help others, the company has put together
a simple 10-question survey that allows you to:
1. Understand
how you compare to other phone users
2. Provide
tips to improve your smartphone habits
In
the end, self-control and quitting cold turkey may be necessary, especially if
you are planning to study for exams as pointed out in my MICO Wars blog article
entitled
Sharing
is caring so share this with your friends who are trying to quit!!!!
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