BACKGROUND RESEARCH   

 

     In order to find background information on our topic we used the Google search engine. Google gave us a wide variety of results when we entered “cell phone statistics male vs. female”. We found one article titled “Men use cell phones much more than women” and it gave us a lot of raw statistics comparing men and women usage. A national survey of 1,021 qualified adult wireless user respondents (50 percent men and 50 percent women) was conducted for Cingular Wireless. According to a survey conducted by Cingulair, men talk 35% more on their mobile phones than women. In 2004, men only used their phones 16% more than women and the statistic has continuously grown over the past five years. Another statistic we found directly related to our study was that men use, on average, 571 minutes per month, compared to an average of 424 minutes used a month for women. Interestingly, in the same study, Cingulair found that women talk more than men on their landline home phones. Women use an average of 491 minutes a month and men only use about 321 minutes per month. Some other interesting facts found in this study were that 82% of women use their wireless phones to communicate with friends and family while men stay strictly business. Both men and women use their cell phones for convenience as the number one reason (61%), safety being the second reason (19%), (http://www.dancewithshadows.com/tech/cingular-men-cellphone.asp).

          Another website we found from Google was more related to teenage use of cell phones. The study was conducted online in July 2008, among a nationally representative sample of 2,089 teenagers (age 13-19) across the US who have cell phones. The study found that four out of five teenagers in 2007 carry a cell phone. Many statistics led to the assumption that texting was replacing talking. This mobile phone feature is so important to them, if texting were no longer an option 47% of teens say their social life would end or be worsened - that’s especially so among females (54% vs. 40%). Teens also say that texting is better than talking because they can multitask, communicate faster, avoid verbal confrontation, and for entertainment. On average, there are about 1 billion text messages sent per day among the teen population. As compared to adults 80% of teens say their number one reason for using cell phones is security. Cell phones have become teens’ number one safety net when needing a ride, getting important information, or helping out someone in trouble.

     An additional website we found from Google tried to explain which sex uses cell phones more often and why. University of Alabama sociologist Shelia Cotton and her team conducted a study by surveying about 1000 middle-school students between the ages of 11 and 13. These teens were asked to rate the different ways they use their cell phones on a five-point scale – 0 meaning never, five meaning several times a day. Boys scored higher than girls because boys are more likely to use their cell phones for: emails, playing games, listening to music, and sharing pictures and videos, than girls. The study also showed that boys were able to use their cell phones a lot better than girls. This outcome of the experiment underlines the growing belief that men are more tech savvy than women. In our society it is almost looked down upon for a woman or a girl to be tech savvy, girls always turns towards men for help with technology. This is known as gender socialization. The article then goes on about encouraging parents to buy their daughters more advanced multimedia phones, to escape this gender socialization. The study also proved the stereotype of boys being more gadget obsessed than girls. The final result of the study showed that boys and girls use their phone about the same amount for calling and texting, about two hours per day. (http://www.theonlinemom.com/secondary.asp?id=879)

          The last article we looked at which we got from Google talked about the increase of cell phone usage and ownership among teens. Survey data was collected by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The survey data showed that the amount of cell phone ownership among teens has risen quite dramatically from 45% in 2004, to 63% in 2006, and to 71% in 2008. The age groups used for the survey were ages 12 to 17. However, cell phone ownership has also raised among adults, 85% of adults owned cell phones in 2008. The increased ownership of cell phones obviously leads to increased use of cell phones, especially among teens. (http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/14--Teens-and-Mobile-Phones-Data-Memo.aspx)

 

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