Quick: what’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
Yawn? Hit the snooze button? Go to the bathroom? Brush your teeth?
If you’re like 80% of 18-44-year-olds, the answer is “check my smartphone.”
A new IDC Research report, conducted online with data from 7,446 Android and iPhone users ages 18 to 44 during a week in March, reveals some eye-opening mobile social media intel.
Facebook sponsored the report, so our sister site AllFacebook.com has the story from that angle, if you’re interested.
But here’s the lowdown from a less Facebook-specific perspective:
49% of the entire U.S. population uses a smartphone. By 2017, the percent of smartphone users is expected to reach 68%.
Four out of five smartphone users check their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up. 80% of those say it’s the first thing they do in the morning.
79% of smartphone users have their phone on or near them for all but two hours of their waking day; 63% keep it with them for all but one hour. A full quarter of respondents couldn’t recall a single time of the day when their phone wasn’t in the same room as them.
Friday through Sunday, smartphone users spend 163 minutes communicating and using social media on their phones. Monday through Thursday, they spend 87 minutes.
So weekends are more social than ever, probably because social media is just that – social, connecting people in person and from afar online. And as Shea shared recently, another study showed that smartphone owners are considerably more social than their desktop counterparts.
The average number of social/communication apps that smartphone users have on their phones is 7.4.
The most common sentiment regarding smartphone is one of “connectedness,” far surpassing “overwhelmed,” “stressed out,” “burdened/anxious,” or “lonely.”
That connectedness engendered by smartphone use is followed closely by excitement, curiosity, and productivity.
Basically, smartphones have become pocketable personal computers rather than cell phones. And no matter the social networking you’re doing, chances are you’re doing it more deeply and often if you’re doing it on the go.
Do any of these findings ring true to you?
You can read the full report here.
(Report snapshots via IDC, top image via Shutterstock)
