The news that we spend approximately one-quarter of our waking hours on our smartphones probably won’t be a shock to many people. From online banking to organizational tools, online game to music, and video streaming to fitness monitoring, our smartphones have compartmentalized many aspects of our lives. But, what are the three most prevalent uses for smartphones?
Social Media
More than half of our online time is spent on social media apps on our phone, whether it’s checking up on our high school friends on Facebook, engaging with political debate on Twitter, sharing our latest gym pictures on Instagram or watching viral videos of cats on YouTube. Entertainment and connectivity are at our fingertips, and social media giants are allowing us to connect with content that entertains us and allows us respite from the real world while also ensuring we stay communicating with our networks. Social media makes staying in touch with peripheral friends and acquaintances easier. Even businesses are spending more time and money on social media. We used to ask people if they remember where they were when important news items broke, whereas now we ask if people remember how they heard about it – and nine times out of ten they did so through social media.
Gaming and Online Games
Another huge change to our lifestyles since the advent of smartphones is the use of them for gaming. This ranges from hyper-casual gaming such as Candy Crush and Temple Run, which use the innate features of the touch screen in order to engage with the game, to longer-form games such as Fortnite. Even traditionally desktop-based games are migrating to their smartphones audience, such as those offered by online games. As this review shows, William Hill offers bigger games and has a steady mobile alternative to traditional online games, which includes popular titles from the desktop version, to entice would-be desktop users to swap to their smartphones to play along. By choosing online games titles such as poker, roulette, and games, players have the experience they would on their desktops on their smartphones.
Dating
According to recent figures, around 40% of American couples now meet through dating apps and online dating. Indeed, from Tinder to Bumble to Plenty of Fish and many more niche and specific dating apps, there are a multitude of ways to meet the love of your life from just a flick on your phone. This information feeds into the idea that our phones are important and, therefore, are being modified to aid us in important real-life activities. Spending so much of our time online on dating apps helps to streamline a process that is awkward and time-consuming in real life. But, detractors of online dating cite the possible dangers (that exist in all dating, too) and the idea that too much choice makes us miss important connections.
Our smartphones have become the appendage that we didn’t know we needed. They offer us solutions to minor and major problems and ensure that we always reach for them in times of need or boredom. While many decry the time we spend on our phones, we have just adapted to have everything we need in one handy hub that fits in the palms of our hands.