Danes check their phones 2.5 times every hour

Student video campaign points at negative social effects of habit

A new study on mobile consumer trends by the consulting company Deloitte has revealed that the Danes check their mobile phones on average 2.5 times every hour.

“If we apply this to the whole population, it means we look at our smartphones 170 million times a day,” Frederik Behnk, a media expert at Deloitte, told TV2. 

However, 17 percent of the young people aged 18-29 admit they check their mobile phone at least 10 times per hour.

“Such a high frequency suggests, in essence, that they constantly keep an eye on the phone to keep up with new calls, messages and social media,” Behnk noted.

READ MORE: Public school bans mobile phones

Banned at schools
Some schools in Denmark have already banned the use of mobile phones during classes to improve students’ concentration.

And recently, a group of students from Thisted Municipality decided to create a video campaign pointing out the effect that constant fiddling with a mobile phone has both on learning and on social interaction.

“We have made the videos to make young people our own age aware that they can miss out on teaching and on socialising with peers if they use mobile phones during classes and breaks,” said Ingeborg Fredslund-Madsen, a 16-year old student from Thisted.

Meanwhile, a study from Baylor University, Texas has found that people who compulsively check for mobile phone updates tend to be emotionally unstable and prone to moodiness.




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