Cellphone users globally have developed an intimate relationship with their mobile devices. SA tops the chart as far as that bond goes, with 78% of South Africans seeing their mobile phone as their most important personal device.
This is according to a new poll conducted by US weekly news magazine Time and global telecoms company Qualcomm, which sets out to determine how the global mobile wave is affecting the everyday lives of people from all walks of life.
Launched recently and featured in the latest issue of Time - dubbed “The Wireless Issue” - the Time Mobility Poll is a survey of 5 000 people of all age groups and income levels in eight countries - the US, the UK, China, India, South Korea, SA, Indonesia and Brazil. The survey, conducted between 29 June and 28 July, sets out to paint a picture of how the explosive technology that is mobile affects everything in life - from dating to politics, and business to parenting.
South African stance
Mobile has, for some time now, widely been touted as the fastest growing technology in history, with SA being the case in point. Mobile subscriptions in our country have mushroomed, with South African networks currently hosting over 62 million subscribers - more SIM cards than people.
The poll shows South African cellphone users are almost constantly connected to their devices, with 63% of checking their phone at least once every 30 minutes and 42% conceding they check it at least once every 10 minutes. Sixty-one percent say they browse the Internet on their wireless mobile device at least a few times a week, up from only 27%, five years ago. Almost double the global figure, 43% of SA's motorists use their devices while driving (compared to 26% globally).
According to Qualcomm, “wireless mobile technology, simply put, has made SA a better country”. They cite local participants' optimism around mobile - 91% of whom say that wireless has improved life in SA in general, compared to 69% globally. Eighty-three percent say it has strengthened SA's economy and 78% say wireless mobile technology has made SA a more efficient place to do business.
Overwhelming majorities in SA see advancements in wireless technology as beneficial to the most important aspects of life. More than nine in 10 say wireless plays an important role in education and healthcare in SA, and 98% say it is important to public safety.
Eighty-six percent of South Africans say being constantly connected by technology is mostly helpful, compared to 12% who say it is a burden. As for the viewpoint that mobile stifles individuals as social beings - quite the contrary, with 55% of South Africans saying wireless mobile technology has enabled them to stay in closer contact with friends and 59% saying they are in closer contact with family because of wireless. Eighty-nine percent of South Africans think advancements in wireless technologies that allow students to collaborate outside of school hours are important.
Global gab
Globally, the poll yielded some interesting results too:
* 84% worldwide said they could not go a single day without their mobile devices in hand.
* 55% (76% of 25- to 29-year-olds) worldwide had flirted with someone via text message.
* 66% of people feel that their wireless devices have made them better parents.
* 75% worldwide think governments should not have the power to shut off wireless networks for the purpose of suppressing peaceful dissent.
* 26% say they feel guilty if they don't promptly respond to a work-related message outside of normal work hours.
* 58% globally (74% in India) use their wireless mobile device while also using a laptop or desktop computer.
Time points out that a typical smartphone today has more computing power than Apollo II when it landed on the moon in 1969. “[It] makes you wonder: Just how much smaller and smarter and faster and better might our devices be a decade from now? And how much about our lives and work and relationships is left to be completely transformed as a result?”
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