Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

We literally cannot let go of our smartphones, new survey finds

Lulu Chang
By

College students using smartphones.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Does it hurt when you let it go? Does it feel like part of you is missing when you’re away from it for too long? Does your phone feel like your other half? That might be because it (almost) literally is. According to a new survey conducted by YouGov Omnibus, over 50 percent of millennials report that they carry their phone in their hand throughout the day.

That’s right — for over half of us raised with easy access to mobile devices, they’ve become an extension of our arms. And yes, it’s a distinctly millennial phenomenon — the YouGov survey found that only 30 percent of those between the ages of 35 and 54 reported such constant contact with their phone, and 16 percent of those over 55 had such a codependent relationship with their mobile devices.

Recommended Videos

Survey respondents were asked if they kept their smartphones in their pants pocket, jacket pocket, table surface, purse/handbag, or somewhere else, and were encouraged to select all applicable answers. Pants pocket proved to be the most popular answer across the board (58 percent of millennials, 39 percent of the middle age category, and 44 percent of those over the age of 55), but the in-hand option proved the second most popular choice for those aged 18 to 34.

Related

Moreover, it seems that millennials’ penchant for carrying their smartphones in their hands has also led to quite a few dropped phones — the survey found that 48 percent of young people wanted their smartphone to be more durable (with a shatterproof screen, water resistant capabilities, and the like). Only 40 percent of those between 35 and 54 had this problem, and just over a quarter of those over 55 needed stronger, more butterfinger-proof phones. In fact, YouGov notes, “Young people were the only cohort to express more concern about their phone’s durability than its battery life.”

So look out, smartphone owners. Soon, we may have to find a way to implant these devices directly into our skin. After all, we’re practically that attached already.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Our galaxy is lonelier than we thought, New Horizons data shows
This photo shows a phenomenon known as zodiacal light.

When you look up into the sky, all the stars you see are part of our galaxy, the Milky Way. And we know our galaxy is just one among many in the universe.

It was previously thought that there were trillions of galaxies out there in the vastness of space, but new research using data from NASA's New Horizons mission questions that figure. Now, it seems that galaxies may number in the hundreds of billions, rather than the trillions.

Read more
Monkeys in Bali know how much we love our smartphones
monkeys in bali know how much we love our smartphones japanese monkey northern limit

Monkeys at Uluwatu Temple in Bali have been terrorizing tourists for years, stealing everything from bags and bottles to sunglasses and smartphones.

While it's already impressive that the cunning creatures have developed bartering skills to ensure they receive food from the victims in exchange for the stolen items, new research shows that the monkeys there have even learned which things matter most to us, prompting them to hold on to the more important items until an appropriate amount of food is offered.

Read more
Staggering implications: Smartphones may soon use our gait to see if we’re drunk
6 photography tips for snapping better beer pics 1500x844 jpg

Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Pittsburgh have developed software that harnesses a smartphone’s built-in accelerometer, and uses this to determine whether its user might be drunk -- based entirely on how they walk.

“Every smartphone currently manufactured has many embedded sensors,” Brian Suffoletto, associate professor in emergency medicine at Stanford University, told Digital Trends. “One of these sensors is a 3-axis accelerometer. We accessed this sensor and sampled the movement in the forward-backward, side-to-side, and up-down direction 100 times per minute while individuals were walking in a straight line using a free app, Phyphox. We then cleaned the data and generated features related to walking such as step speed and variability of side-to-side movement. [After that, we] trained a model where each person served as their own control and examined how well these models, when shown new data on the individual, could discriminate between periods of intoxication and sobriety.”

Read more