Mobile Devices – a look at the numbers

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We use them to shop, bank, book vacations and track our fitness. We use them for work and pleasure and we use them to evade unwanted social interaction. More people have them and more people have more of them every year. The use of mobile phones is on the rise and they are changing the way we do just about everything.

Who has a mobile device?

Just about everyone. And that number is growing rapidly on a global level. According to a study by Cisco, by the year 2020 more people around the globe will own a phone than have electricity or running water. That’s a projection of  5.4 billion people with a phone in comparision to 5.3 billion people with electricity and only 3.5 billion people with running water.

Not only is the number of mobile phone owners growing, the number of mobile phones any individual person owns is on the rise. According to a recent Bank of America report, 59% of consumers have more than one mobile device, with approximately a quarter of consumers (24%) owning three or more.

What are we doing on our phones?

We are turning to our phones for more and more of our daily activities. According to the Bank of America report, 66% of American’s turn to their mobile phones to get directions. Fifty one percent use mobile devices to book travel and 46% use it to schedule appointments. Twenty four percent order food on their mobile devices and 19% of Americans shop on their mobile devices.

Mobile banking is on the rise, according the Bank of American report. In 2016, 63% of Americans cite digital as their primary method of banking, up from 51% in 2015 and only 47% in 2014.

Tracking fitness may start to rise with the proliferation of devices such as the Fitbit, but as of 2016 it is still relatively low on the list of uses for mobile devices among Americans. Only 15% of Americans reported tracking exercise or steps, 12% reported tracking calories on their mobile devices, and only 7% track their heart rate.

The report also showed that among millenials, texting is the preferred method of conversing with others, with 40% of millenials prefering texting to only 33% prefering to converse in person and a mere 12% prefering to converse by phone call.

The appropriate response time to a text? Nineteen percent of millenials expect a response instantly and 31% expect it in under 10 minutes.

While conversing over texts may lack human facial expressions, 91% of millenials use emojis when texting.

A mobile excuse…

Forty four percent of Americans admit to using their smartphones to escape social interaction, with millenials as the worst culprits at a whopping 71%. Smartphones offer escape from conversations on dates, during meetings, family dinners and school. Nothing, however, beats a good old fashioned holiday gathering. Twenty five percent of Americans and a full 40% of millenials admit to using their mobile devices to escape a conversation at holiday gatherings.

With Easter only a month away, perhaps it’s time to review your mobile data plan…

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