Love vs Phone; Study Says Indians Care Phones More Than People They Love

Nearly 33 percent of people, especially the younger generation care more for their smartphones over engaging with individuals they love

Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Nearly 33 percent of people, especially the younger generation that has grown up in a digital world, care more for their smartphones over engaging with individuals they love and India tops the list with 47 percent, a report said on Saturday. The study by telecommunications company Motorola, which is developed in partnership with Nancy Etcoff -- an expert in 'Mind-Brain Behaviour and the Science of Happiness', from Harvard University, said: "We, as a generation, are losing control of our lives." "Over half of the respondents (53 percent) described their smartphones as their best friend and companion. India tops the chart with 65 percent," the study, issued by the independent research company Ipsos, noted. India again topped the list with 64 percent when it came to people wanting help with phone-life balance. The global numbers stand at 61 percent where individuals said they wanted to get the most out of their lives when they were not using their phones. Motorola defines phone-life balance as the desire to have a technology to support lives without becoming the center of it. The study pinpointed key problematic smartphone behaviors that impacted people's relationships with others and themselves. "Approximately 50 percent people agreed that they check their phone more often than they would like and nearly 44 percent felt compelled to perpetually check their phones. India figures at the top with 65 percent and 57 percent respectively," the study found. Almost 35 percent of the respondents agreed that they are spending too much time using their phones with 44 percent of them belonging to Gen Z -- people who were born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. India figures at the top with 48 percent and 55 percent respectively. Further to this, 53 percent Indians said that they would be happier if they spent less time on their smartphones. Nearly, 65 percent people panic when they think they have lost their smartphone. "India stands at the top in emotional overdependence of phone with 77 percent of respondents admitting that they panic when they lose their phone," the study said. Even while not using their smartphones, 46 percent Indians were thinking about using it the next time that they get a chance to check their devices.