Bedside companion: Smartphones help us make it through the night

The smartphone’s march to complete dominance is continuing with news that the vast majority of Irish adults now have such a device, with 50 per cent admitting to being unable to make it through the night without checking it at least once.

Deloitte’s Mobile Consumer Survey analysed the mobile usage habits of more than 1,000 Irish consumers to show that the smartphone is now the primary device for Irish consumers, with 86 per cent owning or having access to one compared with 80 per cent who have or have access to laptops and 60 per cent who have access to tablets.

Half of Irish consumers – and seven out of 10 of 18-24 year olds – check their phones in the middle of the night, with the three nocturnal smartphone activities being checking the time, sending text messages and looking at social networks.

Reach for it

In addition to their nocturnal habits, 13 per cent of smartphone owners instinctively reach for their phone as soon as they wake up – and not just to turn off their alarm – while just over a third reach for it within five minutes of waking and half within a quarter of an hour.

Typically, the first thing people check on their phone are their messages, while social networks are in second place and personal emails in third.