Published on August 10th, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

What’s Keeping Us On Our Phones?

Digital dependency has become a very real thing. Do you find yourself constantly checking your phone? Are you spending more and more time on apps and games? A recent poll has found that a shocking 71% of Britons never turn off their smartphones. But why is this? It’s true that, over recent years, smartphones have gotten bigger and more advanced, but are we really spending so much time on them?

Another study found that people spend an average of 6 hours per day connected to the internet via our smartphones. That’s crazy considering how busy our lives seem to be. Just ten years ago, most of us couldn’t access the internet from our mobile phones, and having WiFi at home was somewhat of a luxury. Now, we are never not connected.

In this article, we’ll be looking into the factors that keep us on our phones so much. We’ll be looking into which factors are keeping us glued to our phones and what makes them so popular.

Social Media

It’s no secret that social media can be addictive. Popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram keep us constantly updated with others and the world around us. It’s easy to feel the need to consume and create content on social media and, before you know it, an hour has gone by. The number of people who use social media around the world this year has gone up to 3.196 billion. The amount using smartphones is at 5.135 billion so it’s clear a large chunk of smartphone users are using them to access social media too.

Facebook is one of the most popular social media sites in the world. A study has found that a whopping 95.1% of people who use Facebook access it via their smartphone. This number is at 81% for Twitter and, of the 800 million people who use Instagram, 500 million regularly access it from their phones.

With social media taking the world by storm, it’s clear that people don’t want a basic phone that can only call and text. A social media-capable phone is a must for the modern consumer.

Online Streaming

Live streaming has been getting more and more popular as each year passes. Studies have found that 82% of viewers would prefer to watch a live video rather than read social media posts. There are many different forms of online streaming and all of them serve a different purpose.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all have their own dedicated live streaming features for users to broadcast to their followers and friends. Instead of posting a status or sharing a photo, people opt to share a live moment from their lives for people to watch as it’s happening.

Twitch has changed the game when it comes to online streaming. People don’t just want to play video games, they want to watch others play them or stream themselves playing so people around the world can watch. Each month, there are a huge 44 billion minutes worth of live footage watched on Twitch with massive players like NINJA and Meclipse raking in millions of views each month. Games like Fortnite and Overwatch are the most popular games streamed online, with more big players wanting to be the best.

Online casino sites like Betway have popular live streaming services too. These are becoming increasingly popular as players want to feel a realistic casino experience without having to go to a land-based one. Live dealer tables give a much more realistic and interactive experience for players and it has changed the game for online casinos.

YouTube live streaming has been very popular in recent years. The KSI vs Joe Weller fight saw 1.6 million live viewers, and more are estimated for the controversial KSI vs Logan Paul fight later this month.

People use their smartphones to stream and watch their favorite things. The ability to see something as it’s happening is something people want more and more of.

Mobile Gaming

Back in the day, Snake was the only game you could get on your mobile phone and it was the best thing ever. Now, we can access a world of advanced games right at our fingertips. The thought of playing Tomb Raider on anything but a big chunky PC would have been baffling 20 years ago but we are capable of that and so much more now.

Of people who play video games regularly, 53% of them play games on their smartphone. Mobile gaming is great for killing time while you wait for the bus, make your daily commute or just have time to kill. But it’s also becoming a serious sport.

Games like Fortnite, Hitman Go, and Final Fantasy Tactics are taking over our smartphones. Forget Snake – an increasing amount of people are playing serious games on smartphones. In fact, ASUS are about to release their new ROG phone, which is built specifically to take mobile gaming to the next level.

No longer are mobile games just boredom busters, but they’re now on a similar level to many high-end video games for console.

Smartphones aren’t just for texting and calling any more. They are capable of so much more and, with factors such as social media, streaming and gaming, we can expect smartphone usage to go up. However, with iOS and Android releasing new features that tell us how long we are spending on each app, could we see smartphone users actively reducing the hours they spend on their devices? Only time will tell.

Tags: keeping, Phone, smartphones, what

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.