If you believe a new study from Samsung, women use cell phones for more than just security reasons. Young women are super savvy at using all the facets of a mobile phone to enhance their lives. When women want to flirt, they'll send a text message. When they need to avoid a stalker, they will fake technical difficulties. And more than a handful said they wouldn't date a man who had a big, bulky cell phone. I guess size matters in more ways than one.
The results of the survey show that cell phones have moved well beyond being a simple accessory. Phones are becoming the focal point of our social lives (and our business lives). They are more than a simple "number" or place you can be reached. In some ways, they say something about who you are.
The survey sampled answers from more than 500 unmarried females ages 18 to 35. Here is a breakdown of the results:
More than one out of three respondents (34%) have had a friend call them to interrupt a date. (Doesn't everyone do this?)
A whopping 70% of females surveyed said they have snooped on their significant other's cell phone. For example, they have looked through text messages or picked up their phone to see who is calling. (I think guys are guilty of this, too.)
40% of respondents have faked technical difficulties to avoid someone they were not interested in dating. (Again, guys have probably done this.)
Nearly four out of ten (39%) single women have suffered from "text shame:" sending a text message and then waking up the next morning realizing that they said something they shouldn't have. (Hmm...)
Nearly half of the survey respondents (48%) prefer to flirt with someone they are interested in via text message when they are away from them. (Is actually using a cell phone, for, you know, phone calls, a thing of the past?)
More than 10% of females surveyed (13%) said that the "three day rule," which is waiting to call someone until three days after a first date, only applies to calling and you can send a text message to someone before day three. (That's far from a majority, guys, so take it easy.)
78% of females surveyed prefer to give their cell phone number to someone they are attracted to. (Cell phone = good, fake number = bad.)
More than two-thirds of women (73%) have ditched traditional, paper address books for their cell phones to keep track of contacts. (Pen and paper is SO 1990s.)
Average number of cell phone contacts of those surveyed: 63
Almost one-third of respondents said they can tell a good amount about a person by the type of cell phone they have (32%). (Since when did cell phone-ology become a science?)
12% of females surveyed said that they would be less likely to date someone if they had a big and bulky cell phone. (Tell that to all the guys in Finland walking around with Nokia 9500 Communicators clipped to their belts.)
Nearly three-quarters of females surveyed look at their cell phone, rather than their watch, to get the time (74%).
