Even though our smartphones have phone functionalities and can
make or receive calls, you may be surprised how infrequently
talking actually takes place on a smartphone in comparison to other
apps.
European telecom giant O2 has released a study showing that smartphone
owners are spending a lot of time on their phones "not talking." In
fact, the "phone" part of the smartphone is the 5th most
used app. Four other apps rank above it: Internet browsing,
engaging in social networks like Facebook and Twitter, playing
games, and listening to music.
As journalist Megan Garber of the Atlantic says, "maybe we should stop calling
smartphones 'phones.'" Garber explains that voice minutes per user
have gone down since 2008 according to CTIA. The
revolutionary iPhone, and other smartphones that followed,
created a path for people to communicate in different ways (i.e.
text and email). Smartphones created a cultural shift. Where once
the smartphone was seen as a phone with the functionality of a
computer, today it is a computer, with the functionality of a
phone.
General Manager Devices for O2 in the UK David Johnson says, "Smartphones
are now being used like a digital 'Swiss Army Knife,' replacing
possessions like watches, cameras, books and even laptops."
According to O2's study, the smartphone has started to replace a
range of other possessions:
- 54% use their phone as an alarm clock
- 46% have gotten rid of their wrist watch and prefer to use
their phone
- 39% have switched to use their phone instead of a separate
camera
- 28% use their phone instead of a laptop
- 11% use their phone, instead of a handset, for gaming
- 6% use their phone in place of a TV or in place of a physical
book
As for the amount of time spent by users on different apps and
activities, here are those numbers:
- Browsing the internet: 24.81 minutes
- Checking social networks: 17.49 minutes
- Playing games: 14.44 minutes
- Listening to music: 15.64 minutes
- Making calls: 12.13 minutes
- Checking/writing emails: 11.1 minutes
- Text messaging: 10.2 minutes
- Watching TV/films: 9.39 minutes
- Reading books: 9.3 minutes
- Taking photographs: 3.42 minutes
All in all, the average smartphone owner spends 2.13 hours
looking at their phone each day. That's almost 15 hours a week.
The following graph (provided in the
Atlantic) depicts the amount of minutes per day spent on apps,
as shown in the aforementioned bullet list.
With the amount of smartphones being used in the US, (46% of US
adults own a smartphone according to Pew Research), it only makes sense our
spectrum supply is depleting. Browsing the internet, engaging in
social networks, listening to music and playing online games all
use up a heavy amount of spectrum. Add it all up and one can begin
to understand the priority of finding a solution to the increased
demand for mobile broadband spectrum.