61% people check their phones within 5 minutes of waking up’

For many smartphone owners, checking their phones is among the first and last things they do every day, with 61 per cent respondents saying they look at their devices within 5 minutes of waking up, according to a report released on Wednesday.

According to the Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, 2016, the number swells to 88 per cent when considering people who take less than 30 minutes after waking up to check their phones.

Around 96 per cent of the respondents take about less than an hour to peep into their handsets each morning.

Interestingly, 74 per cent respondents check their mobile phones about 15 minutes before going to sleep. “This study reveals that smartphone usage has increased considerably. It has been identified as a disruptor in many common daily activities. This (the numbers) says a lot about the way mobile phone usage has intruded in consumers’ personal space and life,” Neeraj Jain, Partner at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India, said.

The study, covering 53,000 people, includes over 2,000 respondents from India.

The report found social networks and instant messaging were the two things consumers check on their smartphones first thing in the morning.

These are followed by personal emails and text messages.

Respondents from India said they also use their devices to check bank balances (54 per cent), pay utility bills (54 per cent) and services bills (53 per cent). This is followed by transferring money within the country (38 per cent) and abroad (31 per cent).

However, when it comes to using phones for making in-store payments, fear about security and lack of understanding of potential benefits emerged as key barriers.