A recent survey found that 33% of Americans would sooner give up sex for a week than go without their mobile phones for the same period of time. Navigation software leader Telenav surveyed 514 mobile phone users in the U.S. last month to find out how willing they were to give up certain things ahead of their cell phones. Respondents were most willing to part with alcohol instead of their phones, with 70% saying they would go a week without booze before going a week without a phone. At the other end of the spectrum were computers, with only 20% of those surveyed having said they would prefer to part with a PC than a cell phone. A few more interesting snippets were also provided: 63% of BlackBerry users and 62% of Android users said they had never paid more than $1 for an app, compared to 45% of iPhone users. 50% of iOS users and 55% of Android users said they update social networks from their phones, compared to 40% of BlackBerry users. Finally, 66% of all smartphone users polled said they sleep with their handsets next to them. Telenav’s infographic detailing highlights from the survey follows below, along with the associated press release.
Survey Finds One-Third of Americans More Willing to Give Up Sex Than Their Mobile Phones
TeleNav survey examines Americans’ attachment to mobile phones; finds iPhone users are least willing to let go of their devices
Sunnyvale, California — August 3, 2011 — Results of a recent national survey* commissioned by TeleNav, Inc. (NASDAQ: TNAV) indicate that Americans are willing to give up some of life’s greatest pleasures in order to hang on to their mobile phones. Not surprisingly, smartphone users were more attached to their devices than were feature phone users, with iPhone users leading the pack. In fact, iPhone users were more likely than their Android or BlackBerry counterparts to spend a week without their significant other, exercise or shoes—rather than go a week without their phone.
While 22 percent of all respondents said they would rather give up their toothbrush than their phone for a week, this number jumped to a whopping 40 percent among iPhone users. Halitosis and other priority quirks aside, 83 percent of iPhone users thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners.
Even among feature phone users, however, TeleNav’s survey showed respondents’ strong attachment to their mobile phones. Nearly half of all respondents said they sleep with their phone next to them, including 38 percent of feature phone users and 66 percent of smartphone users.
From differences between iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry users to the snap judgments people make based on the type of phone someone carries, TeleNav’s latest survey sheds light on just how important mobile phones have become in Americans’ lives.
How willing are you . . .
Life is full of simple pleasures, so having to choose between one of those many pleasures—such as coffee, caffeine or even sex—and your mobile phone can be difficult.
- One-third of all respondents would be more willing to give up sex for a week than their mobile phone.
- Of the respondents who indicated they would be more willing to give up sex than their mobile phone for a week, 70% were women.
- 54% of all respondents would be more willing to give up exercise for a week than their mobile phone.
- So what about our guilty pleasures? 55% of respondents would be more willing to give up caffeine for a week than their mobile phone, 63% would be more willing to give up chocolate, and 70% would be willing to forego alcohol.
- One in five respondents are more willing to go shoeless than phoneless for a week.
- iPhone users (43%) were more likely to say they’d go a week without shoes than Android users (27%) or BlackBerry users (25%).
Smartphone vs. Feature Phone
As more Americans jump on the smartphone bandwagon, results of TeleNav’s survey indicate that a person’s choice in phones may impact some of their daily behaviors.
- It appears the phones we choose may also reflect our manners, as 26% of smartphone users admitted to using their phone frequently at the dinner table, compared with just 6% of feature phone users.
- Some couples may find themselves saying it’s either me or the phone. 22% of smartphone users said they’d rather go a week without seeing their significant other than to have to forfeit their phone compared to just 14% of feature phone users.
- How do we value our phones over other technologies? Smartphone owners were twice as likely as feature phone users to choose their phone over their laptop/computer.
- Smartphone users were three times more likely to admit that they judge people based on the type of phone they carry.
OS Showdown
Survey results suggest that not only does the type of phone a person uses reflect the choices they make, but also the smartphone operating system they choose.
- iPhone users were twice as likely than Android users to have spent more than $40 on apps for their current phone.
- Nearly half of Android users said their phone reflects their overall sense of style—more than iPhone users (35%). 43% of BlackBerry users felt their phones reflected their overall sense of style.
While a strong majority of iPhone users (83%) thought other iPhone users would make the best romantic partners, and a strong majority of Android users (70%) selected other Android users, only48% of BlackBerry users thought other BlackBerry users would make for the best romantic partners.
