Not Without My Mobile!
Almost two in five people (38%) in Britain say they cannot do without their mobile phone, according to research conducted by MORI for Vodafone.
Almost two in five people (38%) in Britain say they cannot do without their mobile phone. This compares with one in five (19%) who say they cannot do without their desktop computer, internet access (18%), email (17%) or text messaging (15%).
The research, conducted by MORI for Vodafone, shows two in four people (42%) say they rarely buy new technology products even if they have been available for a long time, and a quarter (24%) only buy them once most of their friends or family have them.
Looking only at those people who own/use a mobile phone, three in 10 (29%) only use it for urgent calls, and half (49%) say owning a mobile phone makes them feel safer and more secure.
Text messaging itself appears to be having an impact on the way people lead their lives. Two thirds (65%) of mobile phone owners/users send and receive text messages. Among text message users aged 15-44, more than a third (35%) say they have flirted by text, 31% have had an argument as a result of text messaging and 22% have had a date with someone as a result of text messaging.
Technical details
- MORI interviewed a sample of 3,845 Adults aged 15+, in Great Britain, using MORI's Omnibus. Interviews were carried out face-to-face, in home. The data was weighted to match the known population profile. All interviews were conducted between 5-10 and 19-24 September 2002.
- Where figures do not sum to 100 per cent, this may be due to computer rounding, multiple codes or the exclusion of 'Don't Know'.
- An asterisk (*) denotes a finding of less than 0.5% but greater than 0.
- Base is all respondents (3,845) unless indicated otherwise.
Q1 Which of the items on this list could you not do without? And which others? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
Mobile phone | 38 |
Text Messaging (SMS) | 15 |
Desktop computer | 19 |
Laptop computer | 7 |
Voicemail | 8 |
Fax machine | 5 |
Teletext | 8 |
Internet access | 18 |
17 | |
Cable/Satellite/Digital TV | 15 |
Digital camera | 5 |
PlayStation or other games console | 7 |
MP3 or MiniDisc player | 4 |
DVD player | 7 |
Other | 1 |
Don't Know | 2 |
None of these | 43 |
Q2 Which of the statements on this card best describes your attitude to buying new technology products? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
I buy new technology products soon after launch | 5 |
I don't usually buy new technology products straight after launch, but I am often one of the first of my friends to own them | 19 |
I do not buy new technology products until most of my friends or family have them | 24 |
I rarely buy new technology products, even when they have been available for a long time | 42 |
Don't Know | 2 |
None of these | 8 |
Q3 When do you think the first mobile phones appeared in Britain? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
Within the last 5 years | 3 |
Between 6 and 10 years ago | 17 |
Between 11 and 15 years ago | 31 |
Between 16 and 20 years ago | 28 |
More than 20 years ago | 14 |
Don't know | 7 |
Q4 Which statement or statements on this list apply to the way in which you use your mobile phone? Base: Mobile phone owners/users (2,724)
% | |
---|---|
I have a mobile phone which I do not use | 2 |
I use a mobile phone only for urgent calls | 29 |
I thought I would use a mobile phone only for urgent calls, but I am now using it more often than that | 13 |
I use my mobile phone mainly for social calls, but I also use it for work | 8 |
I use my mobile phone mainly for work, but I also make social calls | 7 |
I use a mobile phone very frequently, but it is not my main phone | 13 |
I use a mobile phone very frequently and it is probably my main phone | 9 |
I use my mobile phone everyday -- it's a complete lifeline for me | 14 |
Other (please specify) | 4 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q5 Which of these features, if any, do you personally use on your mobile phone? And which others? Base: Mobile phone owners/users (2,724)
% | |
---|---|
Text messaging (sending and receiving SMS messages) | 65 |
Predictive text messaging (i.e.. tapping in letters and the mobile phone guesses the word you are entering) | 17 |
Receiving text-based (SMS) information services (e.g. news and sports results) | 20 |
A built-in camera or camera attachment | 1 |
Accessing WAP/mobile Internet services | 6 |
Calculator provided on the handset | 21 |
Radio provided on the handset | 3 |
Games provided on the handset | 18 |
Alarm clock | 34 |
Storing phone numbers | 64 |
Redirecting or forwarding calls to other numbers (e.g. to a landline) | 8 |
Call waiting | 15 |
Calendar/To-do list provided on the handset | 9 |
Voicemail services | 35 |
Using mobile phone, PDA or laptop together, to move files or to browse the Internet | 3 |
None of these | 17 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q6 Which of these, if any, do you think it is possible to do these days using a mobile phone or a mobile device? And which others? Base: All
Q7 Which of these, if any, would you like to be able to do now or in the future using a mobile phone or a mobile device? And which others? Base: All
Q6 | Q7 | |
---|---|---|
% | % | |
Exchange photographs or digital pictures with friends and family | 60 | 24 |
Send and receive emails to/from friends and family | 63 | 21 |
Receive information and special offers from local shops and services | 35 | 13 |
Listen to full-length music albums on the mobile phone | 30 | 16 |
Find out information about services in the location I am (e.g. the nearest petrol station, newsagent etc) | 36 | 16 |
View a picture of a product/service before you buy | 24 | 17 |
Watch and/or send videos on the mobile phone screen | 21 | 14 |
Do your grocery shopping and have it delivered at a convenient time | 30 | 16 |
Access Internet sites on the World Wide Web | 55 | 15 |
Receive sports results or news information with colour pictures, sound and text to a mobile phone | 53 | 12 |
Be able to have live message-based chat with one or more friends or family members (i.e. 'instant messaging') | 40 | 14 |
Access travel timetables while on the move | 37 | 18 |
Vote in General or Local elections | 13 | 16 |
Booking and paying for tickets using a mobile phone | 46 | 16 |
None of these | 8 | 38 |
Don't Know | 14 | 9 |
Picture messaging is a newly-available feature on some mobile phones which lets you take a colour picture using a tiny camera built-into or attached to the phone handset, and send it like a text message to other compatible mobile phones or email it to a PC.
Q8 Which of these on the list, if any, might you want to share with a friend or family member by sending or receiving a picture message? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
Birth of your child or child of a friend or family member | 36 |
At a wedding | 38 |
At a sporting event | 19 |
While on holiday | 45 |
Socialising/Going out | 22 |
At an office party or work-related social event | 10 |
Pictures of an intimate body part | 4 |
While on a date or as a way of flirting with someone | 6 |
While shopping | 9 |
A good looking date | 10 |
A friend or family member's partner being unfaithful | 7 |
Other | * |
None of these | 31 |
Don't Know | 6 |
Q9 Which, if any, of the things on this list, have resulted from text messages you have sent or received? Base: Text messaging users aged 15-44 (1,416)
% | |
---|---|
Flirting by text message | 35 |
A quick fling | 9 |
A date with someone | 22 |
An intimate encounter with someone | 9 |
Start of a long-term relationship | 14 |
An argument with someone | 31 |
Marriage | 1 |
End of a long-term relationship | 9 |
Divorce or separation | 2 |
None of these | 47 |
Refused | 1 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q10 Which of the terms on this list do you understand when thinking about mobile telephones? And which others? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
'WAP' (Wireless Application Protocol) | 45 |
'GPRS' (General Packet Radio Service) | 9 |
'SMS' (Short Message Service) | 47 |
'MMS' (Multimedia Messaging Service) | 14 |
'3G' (Third generation mobile phones) | 17 |
'PDA' (Personal Digital Assistant) | 11 |
'GSM' (Global System for Mobile communications) | 20 |
'GPS' (Global Positioning System) | 27 |
'HSCSD' (High Speed Circuit Switched Data) | 4 |
None of these | 34 |
Don't Know | 4 |
Q11 Which two or three of the items on this list, if any, would your say are the most irritating or annoying things people do using mobile phones? Base: All
% | |
---|---|
Using the mobile phone whilst driving (without a hands-free kit) | 63 |
Talking loudly on a mobile phone in a public place/on public transport | 50 |
Using/playing with novelty ringtones | 21 |
Playing noisy games on the handset | 10 |
Using them in inappropriate places/at inappropriate times | 36 |
Forgetting to turn them off in meetings/cinema/restaurant/ theatre | 43 |
Letting their phone ring for a long period before answering | 15 |
Sending rude or unwanted text messages | 15 |
Other | 1 |
None of these | 4 |
Don't Know | 2 |
Q12 Which items on this list, if any, do you personally do when using your mobile phone? Base: Mobile phone owners/users (2,724)
% | |
---|---|
Ask the person you have called if they are free to talk | 32 |
Switch off your mobile phone when in meetings, or in cinema/restaurants/theatre | 63 |
Switch your mobile phone off whilst driving | 26 |
Choose a discreet ringtone | 28 |
Leave a room/public area to make or receive a call | 50 |
Speak in a quiet/normal voice when making a call in public | 47 |
Keep calls in public places as short as possible | 41 |
Sending a text message rather than calling late at night | 40 |
Other | * |
None of these | 9 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q13 In which of the ways listed on this card, if any, have you personalised or customised your mobile phone? And which others? Base: Mobile phone owners/users (2,724)
% | |
---|---|
Changed the original ringtone to another one within the mobile phone's memory | 42 |
Downloaded a ringtone to the mobile phone | 21 |
Downloaded an image to the mobile phone | 10 |
Amended the welcome message or logo when the phone is switched on | 24 |
Set up or changed the PIN number | 28 |
Recorded a personal voicemail/answerphone greeting | 21 |
Changed the fascia or mobile phone cover | 20 |
None of these | 37 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q14 Which of the statements on this card about mobile phones apply to you? And which others? Base: Mobile phone owners/users (2,724)
% | |
---|---|
I have customised and personalised my mobile phone so it reflects my personality and tastes | 15 |
Calling people when I am travelling or waiting means that I can make better use of my free time | 21 |
My mobile phone makes me feel safer and more secure | 49 |
Mobile phones are useful in organising my social life | 24 |
Calling people when I am travelling or waiting means that I talk to friends or family more often than I used to | 19 |
I think of my mobile phone as a fashion item | 5 |
I don't really care what my mobile phone looks like | 43 |
I use my mobile phone for making or receiving voice calls only | 17 |
I often use my mobile phone when I could easily use a fixed line at home, work or elsewhere | 14 |
None of these | 12 |
Don't Know | 1 |
Q15 Which of these developments in mobile phone technology might help you make more effective use of your phone? And which others? Base: Mobile phone owners (2,688)
Q16 Which of the following developments in mobile phone technology might encourage you to get a mobile phone? And which others? Base: Non mobile phone owners (1,157)
Q15 | Q16 | |
---|---|---|
% | % | |
Larger screens | 19 | 4 |
Colour screens | 18 | 4 |
The ability to take photos and exchange them with other mobile phone users | 19 | 5 |
Facility to order products and services, and have them delivered at a convenient time | 14 | 4 |
Easy access information about the area I am in e.g. local garage, or local tourist information | 25 | 5 |
More realistic sounding ringtones available | 11 | 2 |
Easy access to the Internet | 20 | 5 |
Pay for products and services using a mobile phone e.g. from vending machines | 11 | 2 |
More advanced real-time multi-player games | 5 | 2 |
An easy-to-use icon-based interface that is more like a PC to use | 13 | 3 |
Don't know | 6 | 7 |
None of these | 35 | 76 |