How much do we use our phones?

17th July 2007

Mobile phone users are a pretty varied bunch, so any research that tries to come up with an "average" amount that we use our mobile phones may not give the whole picture.

Nonetheless, research sponsored by CPP has attempted to put a figure on it. and they think that the average UK mobile phone owner will make 88,518 calls during their working life for a total of 7,203 hours (or about 10 months).

Of course, putting a "lifetime figure" on it is a bit silly - after all, mobile phones have only really been popular for the past 10 years or so and who knows how we'll be communicating in 2057.. but it does indicate that the average person spends six days a year nattering away on their phone. Bear in mind that this is the average figure and there are people who have a phone that they hardly ever use for voice, so some people much essentially have a mobile grafted onto their heads.

The research goes on to say that the longest average call is 48 minutes (mostly to our partners), phones will typically have more than 40 contacts but only 12 of them will be used regularly, women tend to talk longer than men, 68% of people will make excuses to get another caller of the line and more bizarrely one quarter of UK subscribers have answered the phone while in the toilet. Most worringly of all, 3% claim to have answered the phone while having sex.. one wonders how that conversation went.

The research doesn't take into account how much we use phones for non-voice activities. After all, devices such as the Nokia N95 come with everything except the kitchen sink and demonstrate that there is a whole class of mobile user who may be more interested in features such as internet access, email, music and satellite navigation rather than actually talking to people.

Unsurprisingly, CPP sell mobile phone insurance.. but to be fair it is a timely reminder about how much these devices mean to use and they do usefully point out that a replacement handset can cost around £250 if lost.. although if you're one of the aforementioned 3% you can probably assume that your partnet has flushed your mobile phone down the toilet in a huff.