Most rail and bus commuters say they rely too much on their mobile phone and realise the impact it has on their lives, the latest Work.Shop.Play survey by Exterion Media shows. The phone usage and habits study is based on interviews with the 5,200 panel members last month. The survey gives insights into phone plan costs, device and app usage.
It also looks at the impact of phone use on consumer behaviour. Exterion found that 68 per cent of respondents feel they are too dependent on their phone, while 28 per cent feel that their phone use is affecting their relationships with family and friends. Around one in five get annoyed by friends who constantly check for updates on a night out.
Just over a third of the respondents believe there is a decrease in the use of social media in comparison to a year ago. The decline is most marked on Facebook (65 per cent) and Snapchat (35 per cent), with the drop being most noticeable among 16-34 year old Snapchat users on 48 per cent. The survey also indicates a decline in the art of conversation.
It found that 43 per cent of urbanites would rather not talk on their phone. Texting is their preferred method of communication with 58 per cent choosing WhatsApp over the phone’s own messenger service. The choice of app groups is reflective of how mobile people’s lives have become with social on 80 per cent and email on 68 per cent.
Maps account for 60 per cent, music, 55 per cent, and banking, 52 per cent, making up the top five app groups. The high use of transport apps supports this mobility with 76 per cent of respondents from Leinster using a transport app. Most popular among the respondents were the Dublin Bus app at 59 per cent and MyTaxi at 21 per cent.
The survey also revealed a shadier side to phone use, with 64 per cent admitting to having Facebook creeped or Insta stalked on their phones at some stage. Some 45 per cent of respondents had drunk texted/phoned on a night out with two out of five admitting to sneaking a peak at their partner’s text messages.
Antoinette O’Callaghan, marketing manager, Exterion Media, said it was interesting to see the decline in use of some social platforms. While the drop-off in use is greatest among Facebook users there has been a significant desertion of Snapchat by younger audiences. Irrespective of which social platform people are loyal to, the study shows that communicating – whether by phone, text, social or email – is the top priority, O’Callaghan added.
