Typical smartphone user in Ireland checks device 50 times a day

Irish people’s reliance on smart phones appears to have eased slightly compared with last year although the average phone user still manages to pick up their device more than three times every waking hour.

The typical phone user in Ireland now checks their device 50 times a day compared with an average of 55 times last year, with women proving slightly more inclined to pick up their phones then men, according to a new survey published by Deloitte.

Women check their phones 54 times each day on average, with men said to look at them 46 times every day, the consultancy firm’s Mobile Consumer Survey 2019, published on Wednesday morning, says.

The survey suggests one in three people check their phone within five minutes of waking for reasons other than switching off their alarm, while 4 per cent admit reaching for their device more than 200 times per day or about once every five minutes.

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Accessing WhatsApp is the most popular use of apps among smartphone users in Ireland with 85 per cent of people using their smartphones for this purpose

More than half of those polled said they felt that they were using their mobile phones too much with 29 per cent suggesting that over-use of their devices was to blame for higher levels of distraction when performing tasks, with a similar number claiming their phones were to blame for their failure to get to bed on time .

Fear of dependency

A further 26 per cent said they constantly felt they had to check their phone. This fear of dependency may explain why 66 per cent of those polled said they were trying to limit mobile phone usage.

Accessing WhatsApp is the most popular use of apps among smartphone users in Ireland with 85 per cent of people using their smartphones for this purpose. The next most common reason people use their smartphones is to access work email, on 72 per cent, followed by making phone calls on 60 per cent.

Just over one in four people stream movies or TV series on their mobiles at least once a week which may explain why 21 per cent said they would switch to a 5G network as soon as it became available.

The survey reveals 96 per cent of Irish people now own a mobile phone with 91 per cent having a smartphone. Samsung is the most popular brand with 34 per cent of people owning a device made by that company. Apple is in second place on 30 per cent with Huawei doubling its market share in Ireland to 14 per cent over the last 12 months.