It’s a truism that Americans are addicted to their mobile phones. The group most addicted might be young people. None of this is suprising to communicators and marketers.
At least that’s the contention of two organizations that sent a letter to Apple January 6, urging the company to take seriously some of the damage addiction to the iPhone is doing to children and teenagers. The letter was released to the media over the weekend and made headlines January 8.
While Apple undoubtedly receives countless similar letters, this one is thoughtful, backed up with original research and is the work of two stock holders: investment management firm JANA Partners and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The groups collectively own some $2 billion worth of Apple shares. [The groups’ letter can be found in the new For The Record section of the PR News Essentials Page: https://www.prnewsonline.com//pr-news-pro-essentials/]
The chart shows how nearly half (47%) of 2,000 U.S. mobile phone-using adults resolved to divorce themselves from their mobile phone addiction. The study says we check our phones some 50 times daily. 89% say they look at their mobiles within one hour of rising, 81% do so within one hour of going to bed. These figures have held steady for the past 3 years. As you can see from the chart, just 30% of those who try are successful in limiting mobile phone usage. Marketers should be aware of the trend that Americans are concerned with adult and children/teen usage of mobile phones, although concrete action to reduce use may be far off.
