July 6, 2007 The mobile phone is now officially a girl’s best friend according to a recent survey commissioned by Samsung, showing the degree to which the ubiquitous mobile phone has entwined itself in our day-to-day lifestyles as much more than a mere instrument of conversation. From SMS to receiving images to email, video and even public transport information we now employ our phones for a multiplicity of uses, but do the choices we make about the way in which we use phones vary depending on our sex?
The Samsung survey revealed that single female mobile phone users rely on their phone as a valuable tool of the trade for tackling the dating world. Randy Smith, Samsung vice president of channel marketing said the 'cell phone is an integral part of…life, serving as a pocket-detective, matchmaker, wing-woman and beyond. It is now officially a girl’s best friend.’
Female respondents to the survey exposed that a staggering 70 per cent of them have ‘snooped’ through their partner’s mobile phone and 34 per cent have had a friend call them during a date to interrupt if necessary.
Mobile phones now even factor into the way we judge others, with 32 per cent of respondents saying that they can “tell a good amount about a person by the type of cell phone they have”. The study also made the disheartening discovery (for those using old technology) that 12 per cent of single females would be less likely to date someone carrying a clunky mobile phone.
U.S. citizens these days present a strong predilection for mobile usage over landlines according to another study on mobile phone use by the different sexes conducted by Ingenio. Results showed that 85 per cent of U.S. adults own a mobile phone compared to 71 per cent who have a landline. It also highlighted that women are keen SMS senders and also more likely to drop everything in order to answer an incoming call. Men on the other hand are more likely to use email and believe that their phone makes them ‘too accessible.’
One of the potentially alarming things to arise from the Ingenio study was a strange personal attachment to mobile devices. From those surveyed, 66 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men agreed that their mobile phone is ‘very personal to them.’
Both the Samsung and Ingenio studies were conducted in 2007, thereby providing a recent snapshot of current consumer uses for mobile technology.
Some of the other notable findings from the survey commissioned by Samsung and conducted by Kelton Research (the sample group was 500 U.S. unmarried females ages 18 to 35 who have a cell phone) include: