We surveyed Americans above the age 18 about their favorite and least favorite aspects of cell phones, pulling out the extremes of love and hate. Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first because, for the most part, Americans love using their phones. The average percentage of “hate” responses across all ages was below 10% for all but the three categories we’ll talk about, whereas the average percentage of “love” responses across each topic ranged from 16% (for in-app purchases) to 45% (for emojis).2 We understand how automated calls prevent unnecessary conversations (and save call centers a lot of money) in the long run, but we’re used to instant gratification. It’s not all about the haterade, though. Americans are more likely to love the things about their cell phones that make it easier to connect with each other or make their phones more useful. Studies in both the US4 and the UK5 suggest that there are many reasons why there’s a technology gap with older generations, such as apprehension, cost, lack of guidance, and poor accessibility, which could explain some of the hate. Americans will keep using their cell phones, but they have a mixed relationship with cell phone culture. Our advice? Use your phone on your terms, protect yourself, and remember to get some time away from the screen. Given our sample size, the margin of error is ± 4% at a confidence level of 95%.
