Turks top ‘cellphone addiction’ list

“One of the most striking results of our survey is that consumers in Turkey check or use their phones 4 billion times each day. For one of every four of us, the first thing to do when waking up is to grab the phone,” said Tolga Yaveroğlu from the company’s Turkey office.  

The firm’s annual survey provides insight into consumer behavior by surveying 49,000 people from across 30 countries. For Turkey’s results, the company interviewed 1,000 users aged between 18 and 50 through an online survey. 

The research revealed that Turkey topped the list on “addiction levels,” measured as the number of persons who check their phones more than 50 times each day.

“More than 80 percent of the participants had mid- or high-level addiction,” the report said, classifying persons who check their phones more than a hundred times daily as “addicted users.”

Turkish users were also noted as a group of consumers more “inclined” to take photos and share them on their social media accounts. Some 53 percent of the respondents said they took at least one picture each day and shared it on their social media accounts. 

The research also displayed a stark difference between developed and developing nations in their mobile phone usage habits, as consumers in developing nations used their phones two to three times more for taking pictures and sharing or storing them online. 

Consumers in Turkey were also more inclined to user their phones to reach content.

“Turkish users are more inclined to consume rich content, including videos and music, with their smartphones,” the research suggested, explaining that some 70 percent and 59 percent of Turkish users said they watched short videos and read the news, respectively, on their smartphones while the figure stood at 37 percent and 42 percent, respectively, in the United Kingdom.