New Delhi: A new study by Chinese smartphone company Vivo has found that 88 per cent of married couples in India feel overuse of mobiles has hurt their relationships.
The fourth edition of Vivo’s ‘Switch Off’ study, titled ‘Impact of Smartphones on Spousal Relationships’, was released Monday.
About 90 per cent individuals also said that time spent on smartphones was their “most preferred way” to relax.
Among the surveyed individuals, 84 per cent thought “smartphones have become a part of their body and cannot be separated”. The study also noted that wives and husbands spend close to 4.7 hours on average every day on their smartphones.
The research was conducted across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. Close to 1,000 couples were surveyed for the study.
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Spending ‘quality time’ with smartphones
Users also admitted that excessive use of smartphones was reducing the quality time they spent with their loved ones. Only 55 per cent of surveyed couples felt they were spending quality time with family and friends without getting distracted by their phones.
About 67 per cent “confessed” to being on the phone “when spending time with their spouses”, the study said.
Around 73 per cent of couples said their spouses have “complained about their overindulgence on the phone instead of spending time with him/her”. This, the story further said, have led to confrontation between couples.
“70 per cent get irritated when a spouse asks for something while they are immersed in their smartphones,” the study noted.
Around 72 per cent of users also said they get so “immersed on their smartphones that they lose track of their surroundings”.
‘Enhanced quality of life’
But it’s not all gloom and doom. The study noted that while there is a need to increase awareness on smartphone addiction and the impact it has on couples, there is an upside to it.
About 82 per cent of smartphone users said access to information via smartphones have improved their “knowledge about the world through news and information search” and 80 per cent agreed there has been a significant improvement in their quality of lives and “personal independence”.
About 60 per cent believed that “smartphones help to stay connected with their loved ones”, the report said, while 58 per cent of the respondents said they find it easy to shop using smartphones.
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