Millennials, aged between 18 and 34, spend a little more than 6 hours per week, the study found.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/05/18/987607/0/en/Smartphone-Obsession-Grows-with-25-of-Millennials-Spending-More-Than-5-Hours-Per-Day-on-the-Phone.html
Digital dependence and compulsive smartphone use is growing, day and night.
- One quarter of Millennials look at their phone more than 100+ times a day versus less than one tenth of Baby Boomers. And nearly half of Millennials look at their phone more than 50 times a day, three times the rate of Baby Boomers (15.9%). In the United States, a slightly higher 27% of Millennials checked their phone 100+ times a day versus 16% in Germany and 31% in India.
- 25% of Millennials spend more than 5 hours on their smartphone each day and more than 50% spend at least 3 hours compared to a quarter of Baby Boomers. Baby boomers in the US who spend at least 3 hours on their phone are close to the global average, while Baby Boomers in India (42%) and Brazil (49%) are much heavier users.
- Consumers are always on call. 85% of global consumers keep their smartphone in direct reach all the time, and more than a quarter keep it on their body all the time, even at night.
And they have a need for speed. 57% of smartphone users expect friends and family to respond to messages immediately or at least within a few minutes.
Consumers will give up family and friends, even go to prison to not lose their smartphones.
- Global smartphone users won’t give up their device for one month, even if they were offered a day with their favourite celebrity (74%), a 10% salary increase (56%), an extra week of vacation (50%), $1,000 dollars (41%) or a holiday at their dream destination (28%).
- They’d also give up family, friends or sex for a week before their smartphone. Americans were the most likely (11%) to give up their partner or spouse for a month in order to not lose their phone for a year.
- 4% would even go to prison for a month to not lose their smartphone for a year.
- Finally, consumers regularly feel frustrated (27%), lost (26%), stressed (19%) and sad (16%) without their smartphones.
Consumers are buying more and more expensive smartphones, and consumer IoT devices are going mainstream.
- Nearly 10% of global consumers plan to spend more than $750 on their next smartphone and 26% plan to spend at least $500 versus the 9% who spent that much on their current smartphone. In the US, one third of consumers plan to spend at least $500 for their next smartphone.
- Smartphone customer care, technical capabilities and the quality of materials are the three most frequently mentioned factors for customer satisfaction, globally. In the US, accessibility of service was the most influential factor on customer satisfaction.
- Consumer IoT device ownership is expected to grow in the high triple digit percentage range, from 250% for virtual reality headsets to nearly 500% for drones. The two other categories set for highest growth are smart home automation (330%) and smart security systems (275%).
- Today’s most popular, currently owned IoT devices include GPS devices, WiFi speakers and streaming set-top boxes.
- the number one app that millennials can't live without is Amazon
- the home screen curation allows millennials to use their phones one handed for complete convenience
- FOMO means that push notifications are always on
- we will delete an app if the logo is a ugly
Psychology today - Gray matters: Too much screen time damages the brain
Addiction aside, a much broader concern that begs awareness is the risk that screen time is creating subtle damage even in children with “regular” exposure, considering that the average child clocks in more than seven hours a day (Rideout 2010). As a practitioner, I observe that many of the children I see suffer from sensory overload, lack of restorative sleep, and a hyperaroused nervous system, regardless of diagnosis—what I call electronic screen syndrome. These children are impulsive, moody, and can’t pay attention—much like the description in the quote above describing damage seen in scans.
Brain scan research findings in screen addiction:
Gray matter atrophy: Multiple studies have shown atrophy (shrinkage or loss of tissue volume) in gray matter areas (where “processing” occurs) in internet/gaming addiction (Zhou 2011, Yuan 2011, Weng 2013, and Weng 2012). Areas affected included the important frontal lobe, which governs executive functions, such as planning, planning, prioritizing, organizing, and impulse control (“getting stuff done”). Volume loss was also seen in the striatum, which is involved in reward pathways and the suppression of socially unacceptable impulses. A finding of particular concern was damage to an area known is the insula, which is involved in our capacity to develop empathy and compassion for others and our ability to integrate physical signals with emotion. Aside from the obvious link to violent behavior, these skills dictate the depth and quality of personal relationships.
Compromised white matter integrity: Research has also demonstrated loss of integrity to the brain’s white matter (Lin 2012, Yuan 2011, Hong 2013 and Weng 2013). “Spotty” white matter translates into loss of communication within the brain, including connections to and from various lobes of the same hemisphere, links between the right and left hemispheres, and paths between higher (cognitive) and lower (emotional and survival) brain centers. White matter also connects networks from the brain to the body and vice versa. Interrupted connections may slow down signals, “short-circuit” them, or cause them to be erratic (“misfire”).
Reduced cortical thickness: Hong and colleagues found reduced cortical (the outermost part of the brain) thickness in internet-addicted teen boys (Hong 2013), and Yuan et al found reduced cortical thickness in the frontal lobe of online gaming addicts (late adolescent males and females) correlated with impairment of a cognitive task (Yuan 2013).
Impaired cognitive functioning: Imaging studies have found less efficient information processing and reduced impulse inhibition (Dong & Devito 2013), increased sensitivity to rewards and insensitivity to loss (Dong & Devito 2013), and abnormal spontaneous brain activity associated with poor task performance (Yuan 2011).
Cravings and impaired dopamine function: Research on video games have shown dopamine (implicated in reward processing and addiction) is released during gaming (Koepp 1998 and Kuhn 2011) and that craving or urges for gaming produces brain changes that are similar to drug cravings (Ko 2009, Han 2011). Other findings in internet addiction include reduced numbers of dopamine receptors and transporters (Kim 2011 and Hou 2012).
- excessive screen-time appears to impair brain structure and function
- most damage occurs in frontal lobe which determines success in every area of life - academic, career, relationship
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