Smartphones ‘indispensable’

More Americans can’t live without their smartphones anymore. A study just released shows people using their mobile devices increasingly to settle a dispute, coordinate a meeting, find a restaurant or get emergency information.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project said 70 per cent of all cell phone owners and 86 per cent of smartphone owners have used their phones for one of seven key activities, which include solving an unexpected problem, getting directions or learning the score of a sporting event.

“Overall, these ‘just-in-time’ cell users, defined as anyone who has done one or more of the above activities using their phone in the preceding 30 days, amount to 62 per cent of the entire adult population.”

The younger users are even more reliant on their mobile devices: 88 per cent of those ages 18-29 had performed one or more of these activities in the past 30 days, compared with 76 per cent of the 30-49 age group, 57 of those ages 50-64, and 46 per cent of the owners age 65 and older.

Thirty one per cent of men use their phones to look up information that settles an argument or disagreement, compared with 22 per cent of women, the study found.

And 65 per cent of smartphone owners say they have used their phone to get turn-by-turn navigation or directions while driving, with 15 per cent doing so on a typical day.

The survey conducted between March 15 and April 3, 2012 among 2,254 adults found that 88 were cell phone owners and 46 per cent had smartphones.