Smartphones and tablet devices have made consumers more connected to the internet when on the move – but are they less sociable as a result? It appears so.
A survey by respected polling firm YouGov of 2,200 people in the UK found that 30% are updating their Facebook status when on a leisure trip and a quarter are regularly checking their so-called “social feeds” for news and content.
Only 8% are sending tweets, however. Wondering which of the sexes is the most prolific? Around 35% of women are updating their Facebook status compared to 25% of men.
This is a lot of web-based activity going on considering people are supposed to be on holiday.
But there’s clearly more to come, especially when looking at the data for those aged between 16 and 24 years old.
Almost half of those questioned said they updated their Facebook status when travelling, 43% check their social feeds and one in five are using Twitter.
MyDestinationInfo, which commissioned the poll through YouGov and yet has an ulterior motive in people checking travel content online in-resort, is calling the phenomenon the “anti-social media”.
The poll also found huge levels of general usage across providers:
- Apple iPhone – 88%
- Android – 79%
- Blackberry – 85%
- Symbian – 86%
As well as indulging in a bit of social action and the obligatory checking of email (66%), leisure travellers are turning to all sorts of activities when using their devices overseas.
Obvious things include:
- Calls – 37%
- SMS – 39%
But others include:
- News subscriptions – 5%
- Reading books – 18%
- Watching films – 12%
- Listening to music – 31%
- Reading blogs – 6%
- Playing games – 25%
- Updating own blog(s) – 3%
- Photo Sharing – 15%
- Checking in (Facebook Places, Foursquare etc) – 14%
- Localization (maps, local info, languages) – 27%
Just hope there’s still time to talk to people and see stuff…
Related posts:
About Kevin May
