The amount of time people use on their smartphones has shot up in 2020, a study from Chinese manufacturer Vivo and Cybermedia Research has said. The study says that smartphones tightened their grip on users this year, as the average usage time shot up to almost seven hours, as against the 4.5 average time in 2019. The study also finds that the smartphone is also starting to have a negative impact on the mental and physical health of users, and a majority of them worrying about their smartphone addiction.
The Smartphones and Their Impact on Human Relationships study of 2020 looks into the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and highlights how this year, users were more dependent on their smartphones more than any previous year. The study finds that office work has increased by 75 percent, calling has increased by 63 percent, users are spending 59 percent more time on OTT platforms, 54 percent more time on social media, and 45 percent more time in gaming. Further, 66 percent of Indians in the study said that the smartphone improves their quality of life, while 70 percent said that their smartphone usage is likely to impact their mental and physical health.
Further, 88 percent of people surveyed said that the smartphone is the first device they check within 15 minutes of waking up, this number was 52 percent a year ago and about 73 percent of users said they feel isolated when they are without their smartphones, which is another big jump from 39 percent in 2019.
The study also asked users about the impact of smartphone usage on their relationships and 89 percent people surveyed agreed that excessive usage of smartphones is having an impact on the quality of time spent with their loved ones. This, despite many acknowledging that the lockdowns and work from home have resulted in more time being spent with family members. Apart from this, about 88 percent of those surveyed said that people have called them out for using their smartphones when present in a social setting with others. There is also a compulsive need to check one’s phone. About 46 percent users said that they pick up their phone at least five times in an hour-long conversation.
The study also showed that higher age groups had higher usage of smartphones on a daily basis. However, users did accept their addiction in the Vivo and Cybermedia research. About 73 percent of the users believe that they would be happier is they chose to switch off their smartphones periodically. Vivo’s study surveyed 2,000 people in the top eight cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad. The male to female ratio for the study was 70 percent to 30 percent respectively.
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