Survey: The Best (and Worst) of Mobile Connectivity

Some 85% of American adults own a cell phone, and these mobile devices now play a central role in many aspects of their owners’ lives according to a new survey from Pew Research Center.

 For many cell owners, their phone is an essential utility that they check frequently, keep close at all times, and would have trouble functioning without:

• 67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating. Some 18% of cell owners say that they do this “frequently."
• 44% of cell owners have slept with their phone next to their bed because they wanted to make sure they didn’t miss any calls, text messages, or other updates during the night.
• 29% of cell owners describe their cell phone as “something they can’t imagine living without."
• Despite this connection to their devices, most cell owners don’t worry too much (or get many complaints from their friends) about spending too much time with their phones:
• 11% of cell owners say that they themselves sometimes worry that they are spending too much time with their phone.
• 12% of cell owners say that people they know tell them that they are spending too much time using their phone.

Indeed according to the Pew study, many cell owners hear complaints from friends that they don’t devote enough time to monitoring their mobile communications:

• 39% of cell owners say that people they know have complained because they don’t respond promptly to phone calls or text messages.
• 33% of cell owners say that people they know have complained because they don’t check their phone frequently enough.

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