Reports Reveal Excessive Smartphone Dependency

Over the years, Smartphones have evolved in stature and can now be considered as necessities instead of luxuries. However, with these gadgets turning fast into arm extensions it is imperative to identity the levels of dependency. Frankly speaking, smartphones are widely used and an individual touches his or her device 2,617 times, each day, on an average

This figure was revealed after an extensive research, showcasing around 2,617 swipes or pokes for an average person. However, this figure goes up to 5,427 for the heaviest user. While the detailed usage reports haven’t been given out officially, media consumption, changing WhatsApp status and replying to messages via notifications tab might just make the cut.

Then again, these extensive number of swipes were recorded over 76 sessions which hints towards 30 clicks, every time the user interacts with the device. These results can be extrapolated in numerous ways and on a yearly basis, the figures are nearly touching 2 million for one person.

Conducting the Research

The research committee recruited 94 users— all using Android based operating platforms. A special, dedicated app was installed over each of those handsets which would measure the frequency of touch-based interactions with the smartphone— including swiping, rotating, pressing and anything that is of some use. The results of ‘user interaction’ were the calculated over a period of 5 days.

These reports exceeded the previous figures which were availed similarly, based on the Kleiner Perkins Report. While the 2013 survey pointed towards 150 sessions for a day, newer reports showcase figures that are staggeringly high. This could actually mean two things— either the smartphone usage has grown tremendously over a period of three years or the earlier figures were excruciatingly incorrect.

For the first scenario, reasons could be the increased number of opportunities for interacting with the handset, owing to the advent of newer apps and ramified social trends.

However, most analysts aren’t actually sure about putting up with these reports as it actually resembles the Greek tragedy which was astonishing but still expected. While this kind of growth saddens a few, some consider this as an electronic revolution which will soon spread far and wide, all across the globe.

However, there is another side to these surprising reports— precisely the span of interactions. On an average, the individual interacts with the handset for up to 145 minutes on a daily basis. The heaviest usage goes up to 225 minutes, for the entire day which is actually a tad less than 4 hours.

Then again, these results were over 76 sessions— approximated to around 2 minutes for generic usage and nearly 3 minutes for a voracious user.