How Often Do Cellphone Users Accidentally Break Their Devices?
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Carl Laron
Among the most fascinating cellphone loss statistics: 12 percent of the 23 million Americans who damage their phones during a sporting event do so "in a fit of passion." It's no secret that we are addicted to our smartphones. The latest research by Nielsen puts smartphone ownership at 70 percent in the U.S. and that number is only expected to grow. With that many delicate digital devices in our sometime unsteady hands, it's not surprising so many meet an untimely end. How many? Roughly 33 percent of people either lose or break their phone according to Plaxo. In 2013, a British study found that the average iPhone was broken or damaged roughly 10 weeks from purchase. Most of these accidents mundane. Others are quite different.
Butterfingered Sports Fans at High Risk of Destroying Phones
Square Trade, a third-party electronics warranty company, details some of the strange ways smartphones get "retired." Sports fans are particularly butterfingered, the company reports. Among the 23 million Americans that have damaged their phones while watching a sporting event, 12 percent flung their phone in a fit of passion, while 13 percent dropped their phone into their beers. Holidays are only a little safer.The company reports that one in eight households damage an electronics device during celebrations, with a third of those being mobile phones. Other — stranger — ways its clients have harmed their phones include dropping them into fireplaces, falling into urinals, running them over with lawnmowers, allowing them to be eaten by dogs and dropping them from the tops of wind turbines.
Men Are Way More Likely to Break Their Phones
Who you are and where you are reveals a bit about how likely you are to break or lose a smartphone, according to research by insurance provider Protect Your Bubble. Among the company's findings:
- 18-to 24-year-olds are 16 percent more likely to break their phone than other users, with the most common accidents being cracking screens or spilling liquid
- Men are 70 percent more likely to lose their phones and 57 percent more likely to drop their phones into a toilet
- Women are 42 percent more likely to have their phone stolen
- Of women who break their phone, the most likely room in the house for that to happen is the bathroom
- Men most often break their phone in the garage
If these statistics teach us anything, it's to back up our phone data and make sure to keep our insurance plans up-to-date. Smartphones are an expensive, and, for many, an integral part of their job. Protect yourself by keeping your phone protected from these most common causes of damage. Photo Credit: Robert Nelson via Flickr.
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