Are we missing what’s really happening around us by being virtually connected to what’s happening through our smartphones?
You believe it or not, here’s a survey which says that India spends 47% of its time on communication applications such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Hike and Skype, which are key driver of mobile broadband usage.
Whether on a vacation or during the regular days at home or work, being indulged in your smart phones is the new normal.
“Communication continues to be the dominant activity on smartphones. Communication apps are ‘always on’ and are a key driver of mobile broadband usage,” the report by Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson said.
“As per our report, Indians spend 47% of time using communications apps such as voice, instant messaging, voice over internet protocol (example Skype), emails and social networking on smartphones,” Ericsson said.
The report said communication apps have a higher dependency on mobile broadband usage, due to their ‘always on’ status.
The report analysed app usage behaviour using on-device measurements across several markets, including India, with a particular focus on how messaging and social media apps influence the way people communicate.
The research sample represents Android smartphone users in India, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the US. In India, 7,500 Android users were surveyed.
The report said across the US, the UK and India, more than 30% of the time spent on smartphones is spent on communicating apps.
“We found that 40-50% of data consumption for communication apps uses mobile broadband, whereas the corresponding figure for video is just 20%,” Ericsson Consumer Lab Senior Advisor Swetleena Swain said.