A higher number of teenage smartphone users are “highly” addicted to their mobile phone when compared to adults, according to the findings of a survey conducted by Ofcom, U.K.-based communications regulator.
The new report reveals that 60 percent of teenage smartphone users admit that they are “highly” addicted to their mobile phone, compared to 37 percent of adults. The survey questioned 2,073 adults and 521 children.
According to Ofcom’s findings, a number of teenagers and adults under 30 have admitted that they are addicted to using their smartphone handsets. Just Call, a U.K. service that allows cheaper calls from any fixed phone, said that this shows that people are becoming more reliant on telecommunications to stay in touch with the people that matter.
The report also observed that the smartphone is one of the most popular methods of communication in society today, and people are using them in almost every place or situation.
“Ofcom has revealed that 27 percent of adults and 47 percent of teenagers in the U.K. have a smartphone, and 59 percent of smartphone owners received them over the past year,” a spokesperson for Just Call said.
The survey notes that there is an increasing use of smartphones in everyday life – 81 percent of smartphone users admitting to making more calls and sending more texts compared to 53 percent of regular mobile phone users.
Additionally, this new survey also identified how technology is beginning to change the way that people communicate and spend their free time. According to the findings, 30 percent of teenage respondents stated that they spent less time playing video games, while in comparison 23 percent said that they didn't watch as much TV as they used to. The spokesperson said that the impact of the smartphone has been considerable over the last few years, and since 2005, they have grown in popularity, use, style and efficiency, giving them a large stake of the U.K. mobile phone market by December 2010.
“In fact, the survey also found that smartphone users were much more likely to take personal calls during work hours, and to also engage in work-related calls when they were at home,” the spokesperson said.
Last month, Ofcom estimated that about two percent of consumer and small- or medium- business customers buy "super-fast" broadband of 50 Mbps or 100 Mbps.
Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.
Anshu Shrivastava is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Anshu’s articles, please visit her columnist page.Edited by
John Lahtinen