Adults Text More than B/4, Think Cell Phone Checking is Rude, Says Pew Internet

PewAttiudes.png

82% of American adults own a cell phone, Blackberry, iPhone or other device that is also a cell phone. Adults are texting more than ever, but can't keep up with teens, reports Pew Internet.

Teens and adults both believe that their cell phones make them feel safer. However, while 86% of adults agreed that it's rude when someone checks their cell phone repeatedly during a conversation, teens don't report this as a problem.

72% of adult cell phone users now send and
receive text messages, up from 65% in September 2009. Fully 87% of teen cell users text. Teens text 50 messages per day on average, or five times more than the typical 10 texts received or generated by adults.

Still, for most adults, voice calling is their primary use of the phone. They make and receive about 5 calls per day on average. Fully 31% of teens send more than 100 texts a day and
15% send more than 200 a day, while just 8% and 5% of adults send that many, respectively.

Teens are also more likely than older adults to have slept with their
cell phone on or right next to their bed - fully 84% of teens do this, while 65% of adults 18 and older with a cell phone have done so.

For the most part, teens and adults share similar attitudes towards
their cell phones. Both adults and teens nearly unanimously state (91% of adults and 93% of teens) that their cell phone makes them feel safer  because they can always use it to get help.  Teens and adults are also just as likely to say that they feel irritated when a call or text on their phone interrupts them - with 42% of adults and 48% of teens expressing irritation.

For both surveys, a combination of landline and cellular random digit dial (RDD) samples was used to represent all adults in the continental United States who have access to either a landline or cellular telephone.

Read Full Report

1 thought on “Adults Text More than B/4, Think Cell Phone Checking is Rude, Says Pew Internet”

  1. If 86% of people find it rude when someone repeatedy checks their phone...they why do it!? It is very annoying!

Comments are closed.