
Is your smartphone never more than arm’s length away? Feeling addicted to Facebook? You’re not alone. A new survey has found that the average smartphone user checks Facebook 14 times a day, and most people check their phone immediately upon waking up in the morning.
The report, conducted by IDC Research and sponsored by Facebook, studied mobile phone habits and social connectedness, and the results seem to support what a lot of us are feeling: We’re addicted to our smartphones. But most seem to take that as a positive thing: “Rather than feeling overwhelmed by it, we enjoy and value this increased social connectedness,” IDC said.
IDC conducted the survey among 7,446 people between the ages of 18 and 44, and studied their mobile phone habits — on both iPhone and Android devices — over a week in March.
Half of the U.S. population uses smartphones, IDC said, and 70 percent of those use Facebook on their phones, making it the No. 3 smartphone activity, behind email (78 percent) and web browsing (73 percent). Sixty-one percent said they use their phone to check Facebook every day.
Among the other findings:
— Seventy-nine percent reach for their smartphone within 15 minutes of waking up in the morning, and 62 percent reach for it first thing. Those numbers rise to 89 percent and 74 percent, respectively, among 18-to-24-year-olds.
— Those polled checked Facebook on their phones an average of 13.8 times a day, for 2 minutes, 22 seconds per visit — about a half hour a day.
— People use Facebook everywhere, even where they’re not supposed to: 46 percent said they check Facebook while shopping and running errands; 47 percent when they’re eating out; 48 percent while working out; 46 percent in meetings or class; and a whopping 50 percent while at the movies.
— When on Facebook, most people are mostly reading their News Feed (82 percent) and reading or posting comments (49 percent). Thirty-seven percent visit friends’ Timelines, 33 percent message friends, and 16 percent play games.
Does that sound about right? How often are you checking Facebook on your phone? Share your comments below.
Photo by Karen Bleier /AFP/Getty Images
Tags: facebook, mobile, smartphones