How will you break your mobile phone?
Three-quarters of us have broken at least one — but can we tell what you might do next to yours? Well, maybe…
Once the preserve of the ultra-elite, mobile phones have gone global. By 2019, over 5 billion devices are expected to be in use worldwide, with 2 in 3 people having access to one.
While that means more connectivity, texts and emojis, it also unfortunately means a lot more accidents, smashed screens and broken handsets.
Almost 3,000 of our Streetbees global community told us how they used their phones, and from their stories we’ve detected three distinct mobile personas. These reveal surprising things about not only how they use their device, but also what the fate of it is most likely to be.
So — how are you going to break yours?
Our bees told us how they carried their mobiles when out and about, and we found that 1 in 2 people carry their phone in their pocket, while 1 in 3 pop it in their bag. These groups heavily skew by gender: bag users are much more likely to be women, while pocket carriers are probably men.
The rest carry their handset around in their hand — and it’s this group (mostly made up of women) that’s much more likely to break their phones on a regular basis.
3 in 4 in-hand carriers told us they’d broken at least one phone by dropping it on the floor, while an unlucky 1 in 5 (21%) have got through more than five.
Next risky are pocket carriers — here, 15% have got through more than five — and safest of all are those who use a bag. Only 11% of this group have got through more than five; while 1 in 3 (34%) have never broken a handset (much more than the average).
In-bag carriers are also most likely to have a phone expire through overuse or age — presumably because they aren’t dropping them so often.
How do these groups use their phones?
These groups also differ in how frequently they use their phones, as well as what they use them for.
The in-bag group checks their phone the least, and when they do use it they’re probably checking messaging services like Whatsapp (37%) or browsing social media (30%). In contrast, hand carriers are never off their phones:
“I feel that sometimes I can’t go five minutes without checking my phone, and I worry a lot about breaking or losing it,” said one 31-year-old who usually carries her device in her hand.
Pocket carriers are in the middle, but they don’t use Whatsapp (33%) as often and check social media feeds slightly more (33%).
Constant across all groups: only 1 in 20 mainly use their phones to call people any more.
How do they feel about their phones?
The differences are subtle, but overall there’s a definite trend — people who carry their phones in their hand love their devices the most, and those in their bag the least.
Hand carriers were least likely to say that their mobile had a negative impact on their life or that their phone caused them to waste time or impacted their ability to communicate. However, 12% complained that their phones were addictive, the most of any group.
In-bag carriers were more likely to feel a negative impact, with more of this group feeling their phones wasted their time or affected their ability to communicate. Due to the distancing effect of a bag perhaps, only 8% of this group felt they were addicted.
“I spend all my time looking at clothes I can’t afford and admiring fit celebrities, and that makes me feel bad about my life when I should be out enjoying it instead,” said one 23-year-old who carries her phone in her bag.
So what does this all mean?
Well, the statistics don’t lie — if you want to look after your phone, pop it in your pocket or, better still, your bag — don’t carry it around in your hand!
However, the way someone carries their device also finely influences how they use it, and how they feel about it. Those who pack their phone away in a bag and get it out only to catch up on messaging are more likely to be frustrated by the negative consequences of our always-connected lifestyles.
Conversely, care-free in-hand carriers are more likely to love their devices and have less concerns about how they impact them, as their phones are a more important part of their life.
Circling the plughole
In all our results, we found one outlying stat that’s a bit of a show-stopper.
It’s this: 1 in 4 women (23%) have broken a phone by dropping it in a toilet. For men, it’s less than 1 in 10 (9%).
Why? Well, we’re not sure. Our best guess is this: women are more likely to be sitting down in the bathroom, which means they are more likely to catch up on their phones while so engaged… and that results in more unfortunate accidents.
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A quick word on our methodology: The figures in the article are taken from global Streetbees community members, carried out in May 2018. All of the data was collected by mobile and web surveys, and is accurate to within 3 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
