As phone use hits a record high, is public politeness at an all-time low?
If you’ve ever thought that smartphones play too big a part in people’s lives, here’s a statistic that lends weight to your suspicion. A third of adults now check their phone within five minutes of waking. Before they have a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and probably even say ‘Good morning’ to their loved one, these phone addicts make a beeline to check the latest posts from their Facebook friends.
We have Ofcom to thank for this worrying insight into the lives of the British public. Every year it publishes a survey of how people in the UK use the internet. The central message of this year’s Communications Market Report (www.snipca.com/17524) is clear: we are now officially a “smartphone society”.
Ofcom has the evidence to back that up. Forty per cent of people admit to checking their phone at the dinner table, even though more than half think it’s bad manners to do so. Around 1.2 billion (yes, billion) selfie photos were taken on a phone in the past year. And 66 per cent of UK adults own a smartphone, up from 39 per cent in 2012. Its popularity crosses generations, too: half of people aged 55-64 now own one.
But the standout finding is that, for the first time, more people prefer to browse the web on their phone than on a laptop – 33 per cent for the former, 30 per cent the latter. Ofcom said it was a “landmark moment”. On average last year we spent two hours a day browsing the web on our phones.
Ofcom says the growth of smartphone use has been “supercharged” by the increasing numbers of people signed up to 4G contracts. Over 23 million people use the 4G’s faster speeds, half of them doing so to shop online. 4G users also watch more video clips on their phone than those on 3G because the better connection reduces buffering. Sixty-two per cent of 4G phone owners said they “couldn’t live without” their phone, 10 per cent more than all smartphone users.
All this is great news for mobile networks, tech companies and makers of selfie sticks. And as a tech magazine, we’re pleased that the web can be enjoyed on many types of device. But what has been the effect on public manners? Have we developed a phone etiquette for this brave new world of constant communication? Emails we receive from readers would suggest not.
You tell us about dodging ‘smartphone zombies’ as they zig-zag all over the pavement; being trapped next to chatterboxes on trains who ruin your journey; and being stuck behind people taking ages at the supermarket checkout as they gabble loudly, ignoring everyone else.
Ofcom has some good news for those lamenting our addiction to technology. The UK has yet to embrace the smartwatch, despite the high-profile launch of the Apple Watch, with only five per cent owning one. But it’s early days, and Ofcom expects that figure to rise sharply.
Perhaps we need more publicised cases of irritable phone syndrome, like the recent incidents when Kevin Spacey and Daniel Craig snapped at members of the audience when their phones went off during plays. If more celebrities grumpily refused selfies, or complained about loudmouths in restaurants, then maybe Britain’s phone manners would improve. But we suspect it may already be too late.
THE FACTS
• A third of adults check their phones within five minutes of waking
• UK adults took 1.2 billion selfie photos in the past year
• For the first time more people prefer to browse the web on their phone than on their laptop