Cell phone use during sex? Believe it
(MoneyWatch) Ever notice how often people are glued to their mobile phones, like they've forgotten how to put them down? Well, it's worse than you thought.
According to a recent study carried out by Harris Interactive for mobile payment vendor Junio, people are using their phones at what polite company might consider the most inappropriate of places. (Hat tip to the Center for Media Research.)
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Here is just some of what people admitted to in this online survey:
- Seventy-two percent say that they are within 5 feet of their phones most of the time.
- About 55 percent used their phones while driving, even with all the warnings of how talking or texting while driving can be dangerous.
- More than a third (35 percent) have used their phones in a movie theater. The survey did not ask respondents if they used their phones during a movie.
- A full third used their phones during a dinner date.
- About 32 percent did during a school function or some child-centered event.
- Nineteen percent have used their phones in a place of worship, suggesting that the officiating person might try texting that sermon.
- Even though mixing electronics and water is usually a bad idea, 12 percent used their phones in the shower.
- At least 9 percent admitted to grabbing the phone while having sexual relations. Among those 18 to 34 years-old, the number climbs to 20 percent.
On top of what people admit to doing with their own phones, almost 29 percent admitted to snooping on the phones of others. When asked of single people, the number jumped to 42 percent. With nearly 426 million phones sold in the first quarter of the year, according to Gartner, that's a whole lot of snooping.
People who are 18-to-34-years-old are more likely to snoop (47 percent) than those who are older. The number drops to 29 percent for 35 to 44, 21 percent for 45 to 54, and 9 percent for the 55 and older crowd. Perhaps that reflects better manners, or merely the realization, based on life experience, that there probably isn't anything interesting on that phone anyway.