Does it ever seem that everyone around you constantly is engaged in smartphone checking? Do you even find yourself to be one of those incessant phone-checkers?
Well, surprise, surprise: the average American goes for his or her smartphone 46 separate times daily, according to a recent study released by Deloitte.
With such frequency, Americans collectively check our smartphones at least 8 billion times per day.
The attraction to our smartphones is only increasing over time. In 2014, the average American went for the smartphone 33 times per day — in comparison to 46 times per day in 2015.
The younger the demographic, the greater the frequency of smartphone checking in 2015. Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 check their phones an average of 74 times daily. Those between the ages of 25 and 34 look at their phones 50 times day, and people from 35 to 44 years of age check their phones 35 times per day.
Americans check their phones while engaged in all sorts of activities, such as while watching television, shopping, working, and dining out at restaurants, according to the study.
Amazingly, the survey reveals that most people check their smartphones within five minutes of waking up in the morning — and this is true across all age demographics. And the first use of smartphones upon waking now is text messaging; whereas, emailing was the most common first phone endeavor in 2014.
We are in the holiday season. Perhaps each of us, while spending time with our family and friends, can put down (or put away) our smartphones so that we can avoid the dopamine-hit temptation to check them over and over again. Granted, this may be difficult if you’re enjoying your brand new BlackBerry Priv.
Happy holidays!
Eric Sinrod (@EricSinrod on Twitter) is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris LLP, where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology and intellectual property disputes. You can read his professional biography here. To receive a weekly email link to Mr. Sinrod’s columns, please email him at ejsinrod@duanemorris.com with Subscribe in the Subject line. This column is prepared and published for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s law firm or its individual partners.