Are you paying attention? The likelihood is that your mobile phone is within reach – or even in your hand as you read this – however, while smartphones continue to play an increasingly important role in our day-to-day lives, new research reveals concerns over the impact they’re having on society and our ability to communicate.
The research, carried out by UM London on a nationally representative sample of 1,500 smartphone users, found that seven in 10 of us are worried that smartphones are interrupting real-life conversations, while six in 10 regret how much they’re distracting us from the real world and another six in 10 are worried that they are permanently damaging the language.
UK smartphone penetration has risen from a lowly 5% in 2006 to 80% in 2015, with Samsung making up 29% of the mobile market, Apple making up 21% and Nokia accounting for 18%.
On these devices, Apple users are spending an average of 21 hours online a week, with Samsung users at 17 hours and Nokia users at 12 hours.
People are also spending an increasing amount of time on social apps, with Snapchat coming out on top for sending messages for ‘fun’ (62%), followed by Facebook (53%), WhatsApp (48%), Instagram (44%) and Twitter (40%).
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While the most ‘serious’ conversations are had over WhatsApp (39%) and Facebook (35%), one in five still like to get their point across with a self-destructing photo on Snapchat.
On the subject of photos, the notorious ‘selfie’ emerged as a symbol of vanity, with Manchester and Brighton the top two ‘selfie hotspots’, suggesting people in towns with a high student population are most keen on the trend.
In fact, 95% of UK smartphone owners use their camera at least once a month, with 40% having taken a selfie in the last month (guilty!).
Michael Brown, senior insight manager at UM London and author of the report, said that the research gives a clear message to advertisers.
“While the ubiquitous smartphone has created a rich and hyper-personalised way for brands to speak to people, this space is far from tension-free,” he said.
“UK consumers have a host of worries centring on the devices’ impact on our behaviour and language, which brands must be aware of when speaking to their customers.”
With apps such as Facebook and WhatsApp provoking compulsive behaviours, being launched multiple times per day, Brown says there is an opportunity for advertisers to harness this behaviour and that there “remains a hugely compelling case for the smartphone as advertising platform.”
“Because of its flexibility, portability and ever-increasing capability, other technologies are seen as superfluous,” he added.
“Brands should think twice before placing too much faith in new gadgets. All the signs say the smartphone is here to stay.”
