iReach Insights Press Release
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- 83% of Irish people think smartphones should offer more protection for children and teenagers.
- 48% of people feel anxious when they don’t have their phone on them.
- 92% of people in Ireland have a smartphone.
- 8% of Irish have physical problems due to their mobile use.
- Of those who suffer from physical problems due to smartphone use, more than the half (57%) of them suffer from neck problems.
- 66% state that wasting time is a harmful side effect of using a smartphone.
- Almost the half of people in Ireland (48%) think smartphones should not be allowed in schools at all.
- Almost two-thirds (64%) of people with children who own a smartphone think that their child is addicted to their mobile.
Having a mobile phone nowadays is more of a necessity rather than a status symbol. This statement is in light of our recent survey, that reveals that 92% of Irish adults have a smartphone. The majority of the Irish (66%) think it is necessary to have a smartphone nowadays.
iReach Insights conducted nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about their mobile use and their opinion about smartphones in Irish society. The survey has a 3% Confidence Interval and a 95% Confidence Level.
92% of our respondent’s state that they have a smartphone. 7% have another kind of mobile phone and only an unbelievable 1% say they don’t have a mobile phone at all. The average amount of time that people admit to spending on their phone is approximately 1hour and 45 minutes each day, although in reality this could be much more.
65% admit that they find themselves using their phone during work for non-work-related issues. That concerns 79% of the 16-34 age group and 67% of the 35-54 age group, but only 30% of the 55+ age group. Currently in the workplace, one-third of the smartphone users (31%) need their smartphone for work in order to do their job!
It’s no surprise that almost the half (47%) of the millennials (18-34) think they are addicted to their phone, whereas it is 31% of the 35-54 age group and only 16% of the oldest age group (55+). The younger you are the more likely that you are addicted to your phone. This is highlighted further by the fact that a total of 48% feel anxious when they don’t have their phone with them. According to our respondents, these are the top 3 harmful side effects of over using smart phones: 1. Time wasting (66%), 2. Losing social contacts in real life (60%) and 3. Loss of other hobbies (49%). Furthermore, 84% state that they check their phone “occasionally” up to “all the time” even they don’t see or hear receiving a message or notification etc. Only 2% state that they never check their phone without an alarm signal.
80% of the Irish noticed that people are increasingly on their phones when they are socializing with friends or family. But more than that, 82% find it rude when people are on their phone excessively when out socialising. More female (86%) think this than males (78%). Furthermore, 83% feel annoyed by people using their smartphones in public without turning off the sound.
Smartphones have only been around a short while and alarmingly 8% of the Irish have suffered from physical problems due to an overuse of their phone – not to forget the 14% who are not sure. The Top 5 health problems those 8% of people suffer from overusing their phone: 57% have neck problems, 45% eye problems, 37% headaches, 32% back tensions and 24% suffer from finger or hand tensions. Despite having smartphones having such a huge impact on people physical health, 40% tried to reduce their phone use, but miserable failed and 14% didn’t even try to reduce the amount of time on their phone
From our 174 respondents with a child that owns a smartphone, 64% of these think that their child is addicted to their phone. Even worse, 88% of all respondents think that Irish Teenagers are addicted to their phones. Unsurprisingly, almost the half (48%) of the Irish society think that children should not be allowed to use their smartphones at all in school. 29% think smartphones should only be allowed to be used in a case of emergency. This means, less than one in 5 (18%) think it is appropriate for children to use a smartphone in school. Understandably, 83% of the Irish say, that smartphones should offer more settings to protect children and teenagers.
In light of these results, maybe Irish Society should think about how we teach our children to use and handling mobile phones, and other technologies such as tablets and laptops. Above all, we can’t know yet what effects the increasingly use of smartphones will have on our bodies. Especially the younger generations who are growing up with smartphones will probably deal with more physical problems, since our heads and necks are not made for looking down all the time. Only time will tell what effect smartphone will have on Irish Society.
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