While data from cell phone companies can tell us how many hours a day a person uses their phone, Daniel Kruger of the University of Michigan, says it doesn’t necessarily explain the social context of their cell phone use.
An observational study lead by Kruger found that 62 percent of people use their cell phones to pass the time while waiting.
Kruger and his team conducted 55 sessions in 18 spots around Ann Arbor. The team observed people waiting, be it for food, at a bus stop, or in any sort of lobby. Kruger’s team recorded the person's time of arrival and when exactly they began to use their phone. They also recorded the person’s gender and the subject of their conversation—if they were engaged in one.
Many of the people involved in the study were already using their cell phones when they arrived to their destination. 55 percent of those studied used their phone within the first 10 seconds.
The findings also showed women to be more likely to engage with their phones than men and that 43 percent of those engaged in conversation still used their phones while waiting in line.
The results of Kruger’s study can be found online in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science.