According to a study by Deloitte, more and more users feel that their own smartphone use is too high. 31 percent even feel compelled to constantly look at their smartphone.
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According to a study by smartphone consultants Deloitte on smartphone use, 31 percent of users complain that they have to constantly look at their smartphones. According to Deloitte, the smartphone is more and more a curse and a blessing. The proportion of those consumers who are critical of the extent of their smartphone use has increased significantly. And negative side effects are increasingly being noticed, from lack of concentration to falling asleep late to headaches. So it is quite possible that smartphone consumption will soon reach its limits. In Germany alone, Deloitte surveyed over 2,000 users for the study.
“We live in the age of smartphones, no other technical device has changed our everyday life in the 21st century so much,” explains Dr. Andreas Gentner, Partner and Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications EMEA at Deloitte. “In the current edition of the Deloitte Mobile Consumer Survey, we found that the smartphone distribution has now reached a certain saturation limit, but the intensity of use has continued to increase. The main reason for this is the numerous functions. More and more can be done with a smartphone. ”
Three reasons for intensive use: communication, work and entertainment
Communication takes place more and more via smartphone. In particular, the use of mail and messaging services has increased significantly since 2017. 69 percent of those surveyed communicate via mobile instant messaging services (MIM) every day, which corresponds to an increase of 13 percent compared to 2017. WhatsApp is the most popular messenger. 28 percent of users even check every hour to see if they have new messages. Even if the young target group between 18 and 24 years uses the messenger particularly intensively – here 51 percent check the app for updates every hour – the popularity of WhatsApp runs through all age groups.
The second most popular communication channel after MIM services is still email. 51 percent of those surveyed write or read their e-mails on their smartphones every day, an increase of 19 percent since 2017. By contrast, the decline in traditional voice telephony and SMS is more moderate than in previous years. All in all, smartphone owners spend more time on their devices today – and that doesn’t apply to communication.
Smartphones replace traditional landline phones at work
The proportion of those surveyed who frequently use their smartphones for work outside of working hours has doubled to 59 percent. This trend is particularly strong in the younger age groups. In addition, the smartphone is increasingly replacing the traditional fixed-line phone in a professional context, as 40 percent of those surveyed stated that they were using their smartphone for business calls – an increase of 13 percent since 2017.
But the smartphone has also become more important when it comes to leisure activities. “The combination of smartphones and streaming makes entertainment more mobile than ever before,” explains Dr. Andreas Gentner. “The significant growth in games, music, TV and videos shows that consumers are accepting these mobile entertainment offerings. The boom in content streaming is also fueled by mobile use via smartphone. ”
17 percent complain about physical symptoms from high smartphone consumption
Smartphone owners are spending more and more time on their devices, and many people find this increasingly burdensome. 38 percent of the respondents rate their own smartphone use as too high. In the 18- to 24-year-olds, 63 percent believe that they spend too much time on their smartphones. 31 percent of all study participants speak of a real compulsion to constantly look at their smartphones, and 17 percent even complain about physical symptoms such as headaches or eye problems.
“The smartphone increases the speed of everyday life and sometimes leads to unwanted effects on the daily routine, such as answering work emails in your free time,” summarizes Dr. Andreas Gentner. “This also turns the smartphone into a stress factor for people. Our survey shows that almost a quarter of those surveyed have already found an effective way to spend less time on their smartphones: 24 percent have already deleted apps that they perceived as time wasters. ”
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