According to a new survey on digital attitudes and etiquette, it is now considered more appropriate to be online on the toilet than at the dinner table, and you are highly likely to find your partner focusing on their smartphone in the bedroom!
A Colmar Brunton survey says 92% of New Zealanders over 18 have a cellphone, and that 75% of them use smartphones, virtually everywhere.
A third of respondents said they couldn’t live without their smartphones. That being the case, it’s hardly surprising that they are being used anywhere and everywhere. Women are more likely to admit that they spend too much time online, not that many of them are planning to do anything about it – only 19% were aiming to reduce it.
More than two thirds of Kiwis surveyed considered it acceptable to engage online while in the bathroom. While this is a funny statistic, is it new? Ever since the advent of cordless phones, there is likely to have been an increase in er, engaging with others while performing ablutions – or did we hang up?
Texting on the toilet appears more of a male pastime, both at home and in the office!
For a great many Kiwis their cellphone is the first thing they reach for in the morning and the last thing they put down at night, which could be seen as a distraction between the sheets, except that men and women seem equally likely to be online in bed.
We still have boundaries however! Using your phone at the dinner table is out of bounds for 80% of us, as is using a dating app while you are actually on a date. Cutting in on others to take sight-seeing photos or selfies is also seen as the height of rudeness, as is constantly checking your phone while with friends.
gayebelle - 9 years ago
I don’t use a cell phone other than when travelling.
I do remember once talking on my cordless phone to my sister-in-law who lives on the West Coast who said “excuse me a moment.” I could hear some rustling, then a tinkling sound. She said, “I’m on the loo!” I said, “I know, I can hear you.” 🙂