49 minutes a day on the mobile Internet

MOBILE 97 percent of the Swiss population used a cell phone or smartphone in 2014. Mobile phone use increased particularly strongly among people aged 65 and over. In addition, people are making fewer phone calls and surfing more on their mobile phones. These are the findings of a representative survey conducted by gfs.bern on behalf of Forum Mobil. The most important facts in brief:- 97 percent of the Swiss population have [...]

Editorial - April 27, 2015

The most important facts in brief:- 97 percent of the Swiss population have a mobile phone- On average, only 17 minutes are spent on the phone per day (2010: 29 minutes)- Mobile Internet use has risen sharply: today 49 minutes per day (2010: 7 minutes)- For 79 percent of respondents, the benefits outweigh the potential risks of immissionsThe cell phone is increasingly becoming a multifunctional device. Today, for example, respondents report making calls for an average of around 17 minutes per day. In the last survey in August 2010, this figure was 29 minutes. At the same time, the use of mobile Internet applications is increasing from an average of 7 minutes (2010) to almost 50 minutes per day today. 83 percent of all respondents say they use the mobile Internet via their smartphone. Four years ago, this figure was just 24 percent. Nevertheless, the classic functions such as telephoning and text messaging remain the most-used applications. E-mail and messaging services were named as the third most frequently used. Younger people in particular use the smartphone regularly and frequently for social media activities.

The smartphone is now used more for surfing the Internet than for making phone calls.Strong increase in mobile phone use among the over-65sIn 2010, just 56 percent of people over 65 used a cell phone. Today, penetration among this group has reached 93 percent. With the increasing use of the over-65s, there has also been a slight increase in sensitivity to health risks. It can be assumed that people who are just getting to grips with a technology at a later stage are somewhat more skeptical about it at the beginning. Nevertheless, the benefits of the versatile possibilities of mobile communications technology clearly outweigh the risks, even among the over-65s.

Over-65s are using a smartphone more and more frequently. Risks marginalized79 percent of all residents put benefits first, while only 15 percent are risk-oriented. The basic picture is thus the same as it has been since monitoring began in 2003. Interestingly, the assessment of health risks has changed slightly. The respondents no longer see the source of radiation mainly in the cell phone antenna, but increasingly perceive the cell phone itself as a possible risk. However, the fact that the majority of those with a risk perception also use cell phones themselves indicates that the problem has not been suppressed, but marginalized in the weighing of risk and benefit.

Today, the smartphone is considered a risk factor.Perception of the possible source pollutersIf the answers of the respondents are evaluated with regard to the sources of electromagnetic fields, interesting findings also emerge. Compared to the last survey, more respondents see a possible risk from electrosmog from almost all possible obvious sources. In particular, the subjectively perceived risk from WLAN, cordless phones (DECT) and smartphones has increased significantly. On the other hand, the risk from mobile phone antennas is estimated to be constant. Since the beginning of the survey in June 2003, this evaluation has been led by the dangers posed by high-voltage power lines.Further information and complete study at: www.forummobil.ch

49 minutes a day on the mobile Internet

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