Have you ever noticed the number of people who are always looking at or playing with their smart phones? Our youth are addicted, I tells ya! Many times I have been in restaurants and seen families – sitting at the same table with mom, dad, son and daughter all staring at their smart phones without saying a word to each other. Now I don’t want to assume things, but I’m going to assume they were not texting each other. And it’s only getting worse.
When I was growing up, I often heard the phrase: “What is this world coming to?” with reference of course to me and my generation. Well maybe this is what the world is coming too. A planet of interconnected zombies…
12.5% Of the Total Mobile Population Are Mobile Addicts, Says Flurry !
Mobile addicts are typically referred to as ‘zombies’ by the media, because of their uncanny ability to stare at their devices, for long periods of time. The true definition of a mobile addict was defined by mobile analytics firm Flurry, which obtained the data from 500,000 apps across 1.4 billion devices as of March 2014. According to Flurry, a mobile addict is a consumer, who checks his apps at least 60 times a day. This means, that on an average of 15 active hours a day, a user is checking his apps at least once every 15 minutes. The average mobile user launches his apps just 10 times a day, and this segment of users is still the largest among all mobile users, for now.
The Number Of Mobile Addicts Increased By 123% In Just One year
The statistics are all the more worrying, because the segment comprising mobile addicts is growing the fastest. In March 2014, the number of mobile addicts was 176 million, leapfrogging from 79 million during the same month last year. This is almost 12.5% of smartphone users on the Flurry platform, and growing as the fastest, registering 123% growth in only one year. 784 million mobile users or 56% were classified as regular users, or those who check their apps less than 16 times a day. This is the slowest growing category, with just a 23% increase in one year. Users who check their apps between 16 and 60 times a day, are branded as super-users, and they constituting 440 million, or 31% of users, a 55% increase from March 2013. With the number of smartphone users set to increase to 2 billion by the end of 2015, and the world of apps continuously expanding, the number of mobile addicts will continue to grow. In 2014, in the U.S. alone, consumers spent an average 2 hours 19 minutes a day, browsing through mobile apps.
We have daughter who is 50 and can’t leave her phone alone. If she’s not sending messages, she’s reading messages and if she’s not doing either of those things, she’s playing games. We don’t go to visit her to watch her play on or with her cell phone, so we’ve pretty much stopped going to their home. We see her and her family on holidays (Christmas and Thanksgiving) and that’s just about it. Even on holiday visits, the cell phone is sitting right next to her plate of food.
I would not say what is the world coming to with smart phones. At my age I have seen so much and not much surprises me anymore. People are rude whether they use smart phones or just plain ignore others. We live in a world where its taught to take care of ME and forget others and the generations now are alot that way. But thankful there are still many who do care about and help those less fortunate than themselves.
I don’t have a cell phone at all have no use for one. I am probably one of the VERY few who don’t have one. The industry is making billions of $ off of the public so they will keep coming up with more ways to help people ignore others and be rude. Sorry but that’s the way it is.
Just a few weeks ago, my hubby and I observed the same thing at a restaurant but the kids didn’t have any device and just sat there neglected while mommy and daddy each were playing with their devices. We both felt bad for the children as there wasn’t any communication going on between them. You see a bunch of kids hanging out together and they aren’t communicating either. Every one of them are into their devices. I Thank God that when I was growing up, we had a relationship with our parents and friends. There was always a lively conversation at home around the dinner table or with our friends at the local soda shop, etc.
When I go to a restaurant or my daughters’ homes, the rule is simple: phones off. If there’s anything urgent, it can wait an hour or so. We live within 40 minutes drive of each other and hardly get together because I REFUSE to date a phone. I do have a cell phone of my own or, rather, a “dumb phone”. It only receives calls in/out and text messages and it’s used specifically for emergencies and my work. I turn it OFF when visiting, at appointments, and when I sleep. Remember what it was like when all we had were land-phones? Today, it’s not just rudeness that abounds but a lack of “down time”. Today, your boss, or anyone else, can reach you while you’re in the bathroom no less. Come on people! Really???