Indians spend 75 days a year on smartphones, social media
Smartphone addiction has long been a concern but a new survey has painted an even grimmer picture of the situation in India. Apparently, Indians have been spending a lot of time, averaging at around 75 days in a year, on their phones and social media services. And, many even realize how bad it is for their health. Here's all about it.
Average Indian spends one-third of their waking hours on phone
Just recently, Cybermedia Research (CMR) worked with Chinese smartphone giant Vivo to understand how smartphone usage has been affecting the lives of people, including their actions, moods, relations, and preferences. They spoke to 2,000 people, 64% men and 36% women, and found that people, on average, spend one-third of their waking hours, which is 1,800 hours a year, on their phones, social media.
75% people got their first phone during their teens
The survey also revealed that nearly 75% of the respondents got their first phone during their teens and about 41% of them were hooked to their device before completing high school. In addition to this, one in three respondents claimed that they can't even have a 5-minute-long conversation with their friends/family without looking at their phones.
People realize that phones are taking over their lives
More than half of the survey respondents acknowledged that they have never tried "switching off from their social handles and profess[ed] to not being able to live without their phones." Almost all of them confessed to preferring only virtual conversations with friends and family. And, compared to 10 years ago, 30% fewer people met their family/friends multiple times a month.
Impact on physical and mental well being highly likely
Having said that, more than 70% of the participants also acknowledged that if smartphone addiction continues like this or grows, it is likely to affect their mental and physical well being. Three out of five people even said that having a life separate from the mobile phone (by turning that thing off) could help them and others lead a happier and positive life.
Usage has increased but self-realization growing
"Our survey results demonstrate that the dependency over smartphones has increased," Prabhu Ram, Head-Industry Intelligence Group, CMR, said while commenting on the survey. "While smartphone will continue to be the primary go-to device, users have realized that periodically switching-off would help benefit their personal health."
