Almost two thirds of people wouldn’t hesitate to check their smartphones for emails during dinner, while a quarter say their smartphone is the most important thing they take to bed.
The report by Kaspersky Lab for YouGov makes for depressing reading.
I’m mindful of an advert for a well-known gravy granule where people pledge to sit down and eat together at least once a week. The idea being, presumably, that they spend quality time with their families rather than checking their smartphone.
I’m as guilty as most of indulging my daughter – a bona fide telly addict – in the odd TV dinner. But, it’s good to eat together at the family dinner table and catch up on what she’s been doing at school and her passions for ballet and swimming. More importantly, it’s a chance for me to listen to her and any worries she might have.
Equally, being in the bedroom with my spouse is time I’d rather spend canoodling than checking work emails, thank you very much!
Communications overload
As I’ve previously written on Which? Convo, I’m still holding out from buying a smartphone. Were I to succumb, I know the temptation to be checking emails and my various social networks would be too great.
The time I spend away from my desk is valuable thinking time when I don’t want to be overloaded with unnecessary communications.
In the same report, a startling 68% of people would rather go without beer, wine, chocolate, shoes, television and even their car for a month than give up their phone. Chocolate is the number one item people would give up, followed by beer, a favourite pair of shoes, wine, television, a favourite TV show and their car.
Again, it puts me in mind of another, recent TV ad that touts the car as a ‘revolutionary communications device’ that enables you to see your friends and relatives face-to-face: now there’s a novel idea.
So could you live without your smartphone and, if not, what would you give up for it?
What would you sacrifice in order to keep your smartphone?
None of the above/I don’t own a smartphone (54%, 367 Votes)
Chocolate (13%, 92 Votes)
Coffee (8%, 56 Votes)
Alcohol (7%, 46 Votes)
Favourite pair of shoes (7%, 45 Votes)
Going out (3%, 18 Votes)
Television (2%, 16 Votes)
Sex (2%, 15 Votes)
Car (2%, 14 Votes)
Holidays (1%, 10 Votes)
Computer (desktop/laptop/tablet) (1%, 6 Votes)
Total Voters: 530
