i think mobile phones are

Across the 11 countries surveyed, people’s attitudes toward mobile phones tend to tát be largely positive. In most of the countries, a large majority say mobile phones have been good for them personally, and many also say mobile phones positively impact education and the economy. Mobile phone users also overwhelmingly agree that their phones help them to tát stay in touch with faraway friends and family and keep them informed of the latest news and information.

At the same time, people’s positive attitudes are paired with concerns about the impact of mobile phones on certain aspects of society – and especially their impact on children. In eight of these countries, a majority of the public says that the increasing use of mobile phones has had a bad impact on children today. And when asked about the potential risks of mobile phone use, majorities in every country say people should be very concerned that mobile phones might expose children to tát harmful or inappropriate nội dung.

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I think mobile phones have made the world lượt thích a global village.MAN, 24, KENYA

Overwhelming majorities say mobile phones have been more positive kêu ca negative for them personally

In nine of the 11 countries surveyed, large majorities say mobile phones have been mostly good for them personally. In Venezuela, people are more skeptical of the role mobile phones are playing in their lives. There, 49% say mobile phones have been mostly good for them personally, while 47% say they have been mostly bad. Elsewhere, no more kêu ca 11% in any country say mobile phones have been mostly a bad thing for them.

In nine of these 11 countries, majorities also say mobile phones have had a positive impact on society. But in most countries, people report less enthusiasm about the societal impact of mobile devices kêu ca about their personal impact. For example, while 82% of Jordanians say mobile phones have mostly been good for them personally, just 53% express positive views about their societal impact. And in Colombia, Tunisia and Mexico, there is at least a 10-percentage-point difference between shares who see the personal benefits of mobile phones and those who see the society-wide benefits.

Regardless of the type of mobile phone people use – basic, feature or smart – most have similar views about how their lives and societies have been impacted by their devices.⁹ Across all surveyed countries, basic or feature phone users are just as likely as điện thoại thông minh users in their country to tát say mobile phones have mostly been a positive thing for them personally. And in all countries but Mexico, similar shares of điện thoại thông minh users and those with less advanced devices say the societal impact of mobile phones has mostly been good. In Mexico, where điện thoại thông minh use is relatively low compared with other countries, điện thoại thông minh users are somewhat more likely kêu ca basic or feature phone users to tát say the impact on society has been mostly positive (77% vs. 69%).

But there are some differences between mobile phone users and those who bởi not use a mobile phone at all. In five of these 11 countries (India, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico and South Africa), mobile users of any kind are more likely kêu ca non-users to tát say that mobile devices have had a mostly positive impact on society.

Mobile phone users have mixed views about upsides and downsides of their phones, are especially divided over whether they ‘couldn’t live without’ phones

In every country surveyed, mobile phone users are more likely to tát say their phone is something that frees them rather kêu ca something that ties them down. At least 63% in five countries (Kenya, Vietnam, Venezuela, South Africa and the Philippines) characterize their phone as something that frees them, whereas users in other countries are somewhat more ambivalent. For example, while 46% of Jordanian mobile phone users say their phone frees them, 25% say it ties them down, and 21% volunteer that neither statement holds true. In Lebanon, 40% of mobile phone users say their phone frees them, compared with 30% who say it ties them down.

“It’s lượt thích the mobile phones become your partner.WOMAN, 40, PHILIPPINES

Across the 11 countries surveyed, mobile phone users are somewhat more divided when it comes to tát whether their phone helps save them time or makes them waste time. In seven countries, larger shares say their phone helps save them time. Kenyans are especially likely to tát see their phone as a time saver; 84% of mobile phone users say their phone saves them time, compared with 14% who say it wastes their time. Venezuelan (71%), South African (65%), Indian (64%), Vietnamese (63%), Tunisian (54%) and Colombian (50%) phone users are also more likely to tát say that phones save them time rather kêu ca waste it. But mobile phone users in Jordan and the Philippines generally believe they waste more time on their phones kêu ca they save, while Mexican and Lebanese phone users are roughly evenly divided in their assessments.

Mobile phone users are even more divided when assessing their reliance or lack thereof on their mobile device. In six countries – Mexico, Colombia, India, the Philippines, Venezuela and Vietnam – around half or more see their phone as something they don’t always need. But in five others – Jordan, Lebanon, South Africa, Tunisia and Kenya – users are more inclined to tát say they couldn’t live without it.

In some instances, people’s perceptions of the necessity of their mobile device is not linked to tát their assessments of its utility in other aspects of their life. For instance, a majority of Venezuelans say their phone is something that frees them and helps them save time – but just 29% say they couldn’t live without it. Conversely, a majority of Jordanians say they couldn’t live without their phone – even as they are more likely to tát describe it as a time waster rather kêu ca a time saver.

Consistently, điện thoại thông minh users tend to tát be somewhat more critical of their device kêu ca basic or feature phone users in their country. For example, in every country điện thoại thông minh users are more likely kêu ca basic or feature phone users to tát say their phone makes them waste time. And in all countries except Lebanon, điện thoại thông minh users are more likely to tát say their phone ties them down rather kêu ca frees them.

There are also prominent and consistent differences by age. In every country surveyed, mobile phone users ages 50 and older are significantly more likely kêu ca users ages 18 to tát 29 to tát believe their phone helps them save time. The age gap is particularly notable in Vietnam, Tunisia and Colombia, where the shares of older adults who see their phone as a time saver surpass those of younger adults by at least 27 percentage points. And, while it is true that younger adults use smartphones and social truyền thông media at higher rates kêu ca older adults, in every country but India these age differences persist even when accounting for age-related differences in usage.

Users largely agree mobile phones help them maintain long-distance communication, stay informed about important issues

When asked about a variety of ways in which mobile phones might affect their day-to-day lives, users across the surveyed countries generally agree that mobile phones have mostly helped them keep in touch with people who live far away and obtain information about important issues. But there is less consensus when it comes to tát mobile phones’ impact on people’s ability to tát earn a living, concentrate and get things done, or communicate face-to-face.

In general terms, communication is much more efficient. You are more interconnected, [whether] with your relatives or with world affairs.MAN, 26, MEXICO

Large majorities say their phones have mostly helped them stay in touch with people who live far away. A median of 93% across the 11 countries surveyed express this view, whereas a median of just 1% say mobile phones have hurt their ability to tát stay in touch. Majorities also say their mobile phones have helped them obtain information and news about important issues, ranging from a low of 73% in Vietnam to tát a high of 88% in Kenya. And only small shares (from 1% to tát 6% of users) indicate that phones have hurt their ability to tát bởi this.

In all 11 countries, điện thoại thông minh users are significantly more likely kêu ca basic or feature phone users to tát say their phone has helped them obtain news and information. The difference is particularly prominent in Lebanon, where 83% of điện thoại thông minh users say the impact has been positive, compared with 26% of non-smartphone users. And in Jordan, điện thoại thông minh users are much more likely kêu ca non-smartphone users to tát say their phone has mostly helped them obtain information (83% vs. 44%).

Less consensus over whether mobile phones help users earn a living, concentrate or communicate face-to-face

Across the 11 countries surveyed, there is less agreement about whether mobile phones have helped people earn a living. Majorities of users in nine countries say their phone has had a positive impact on their livelihood – ranging from 55% in Tunisia to tát 81% in Kenya – while Jordanians and Lebanese most commonly say that mobile phones have not had much impact either way on their ability to tát make a living. Still, few people see mobile phones having a negative effect. Even in Jordan and Lebanon, nearly four-in-ten say the impact has been favorable.

There is less consensus among mobile phone users that their devices have helped them to tát concentrate and get things done. Majorities in eight out of 11 countries say mobile phones have mostly helped them concentrate and get things done. But notable shares in the Philippines (30%), Lebanon (18%) and India (16%) say mobile phones negatively affect their concentration.

In some instances, these attitudes are related to tát the type of device users carry – although this relationship varies by country. Smartphone users in five out of 11 countries – Lebanon, India, Jordan, Colombia and Venezuela – are more likely kêu ca other phone users to tát say their phone helps them concentrate and get things done, while there are no differences based on điện thoại thông minh usage in the other six countries surveyed. This pattern is particularly salient in Lebanon, Jordan and India, where điện thoại thông minh users and non-smartphone users differ by at least 10 percentage points.

These findings echo the concerns raised by some focus group participants (see Appendix A for more information on how the groups were conducted). Some respondents noted how mobile phones bring distractions and shorten their attention spans, leading people to tát commit basic errors or not complete work because of the attention paid to tát their devices. In every group held in the Philippines, for example, at least one participant brought up that she had burned the rice she was making because of her focus on her phone.

Because I was busy texting my client, my rice got overcooked.WOMAN, 40, PHILIPPINES

Lastly, majorities of users in eight countries say their mobile phones have helped their ability to tát communicate face-to-face – but notable shares in many countries say that impact has been mostly negative. In particular, 35% of Lebanese phone users say mobile phones have hurt their ability to tát communicate face-to-face.

In focus groups, some lamented that more and more people prefer virtual communication enabled by mobile phones and other technologies to tát face-to-face interaction. A few participants across the four countries where focus groups were conducted also pointed out similar trends among children and young people.

People meet less because of their phones; people use telephones to tát express themselves to tát avoid face-to-face discussions.MAN, 23, TUNISIA

Because these questions center on people’s personal relationship with their device, they were only asked of those who own or regularly share a mobile phone. For those who reported not using a phone at all, a different phối of questions were posed: How bởi mobile phones, in general, shape people’s ability to tát stay in touch with those far away, to tát obtain information, and sánh on? Broadly, non-users’ impressions of the impact of mobile phones tend to tát mirror the ways users feel about their own devices. The vast majority of non-users feel that mobile phones help people stay in touch with those who live far away, but smaller shares think they help people to tát concentrate and get things done or communicate face-to-face.

Majorities in most countries say mobile phone use has had a good impact on education, but fewer see positive impacts on children, health, morality

Publics in the 11 nations polled view mobile phones as having a range of positive and negative consequences when it comes to tát their broader impact on their country and its society. Most notably, a median of 67% – and around half or more in every country – say the increased use of mobile phones has had a good influence on education. Slightly smaller majorities say the increased use of mobile phones has had a good influence on the economy (58%) as well as on their local culture (56%).

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Few in these countries say mobile phones have had a good impact on children today

My kid’s always on his phone, and every time I address him he just nods while on his phone.WOMAN, 46, MEXICO

Across all dimensions measured in the survey, publics in the 11 countries are most negative about the impact of mobile phones on children. Nowhere does a majority feel that mobile phones have had a good influence on children. And in eight countries, majorities of the population say that mobile phones have had a bad influence on children today. Residents of the three Middle East and North African (MENA) countries surveyed are especially downbeat about mobile phones in this regard: 90% of Jordanians, 86% of Lebanese and 81% of Tunisians say mobile phones have had a bad influence on children in their country.

People also focus on the negative impacts of mobile phones on physical health, morality

In addition to tát the impact of mobile phones on children, health and morality stand out as particular areas of concern. A median of 40% – and clear majorities in Lebanon (71%), Jordan (69%) and Tunisia (63%) – say the increasing use of mobile phones has had a bad influence on people’s physical health. Some focus group participants expressed similar sentiment by commenting that excessive screen time, phone “addiction” and lack of physical activities were potential health-related challenges.

Meanwhile, a median of 34% say mobile phones have had a positive impact on morality, similar to tát the share who say the impact has been negative. As was the case with children and health, Lebanese, Jordanians and Tunisians hold the most unfavorable views in this regard. Roughly a third or more in Colombia, Mexico, Kenya and South Africa also say mobile phones negatively affect people’s morality.

Phones also give us much more room to tát conceal things.MAN, 42, MEXICO

As noted above, publics in Lebanon, Jordan and Tunisia stand out in their overall negativity toward mobile phones on these aspects of society. But other countries are conspicuous for having relatively positive attitudes in this regard. Kenyans, in particular, offer especially upbeat assessments of mobile phones. Half or more Kenyans feel that mobile phones have had a positive impact on each of these aspects of society, with the exception of children today (just 28% of Kenyans say mobile phones have been good for children). South Africans and Filipinos are also relatively positive about most areas surveyed.

In most countries, there are no differences between điện thoại thông minh users and non-users – nor between social truyền thông media users and non-users – when it comes to tát people’s views about the impact of increasing mobile phone use on children. But on other questions there is more variation between users and non-users. For instance, in six out of 11 countries larger shares of social truyền thông media users kêu ca non-users say the increasing use of mobile phones has had a good influence on their nation’s politics. This includes all three MENA countries in the survey. Conversely, in eight of these 11 countries larger shares of social truyền thông media users kêu ca non-users say mobile phones have had a bad influence on family cohesion.

Concern is widespread about the risk that mobile phones might expose children to tát immoral or harmful content

Despite the perceived benefits of increased mobile adoption in areas such as education, publics express concern about an array of potential downsides of mobile phone use. The survey asked about six possible risks from mobile phone use, and respondents in every country are most concerned about children being exposed to tát immoral or harmful nội dung. A median of 79% – including a majority in each country surveyed – feel people should be very concerned about this.

Meanwhile, the prospect of users losing their ability to tát communicate face-to-face is the item of least concern in each country. In only two countries (South Africa and Colombia) are a majority of adults very concerned about declining face-to-face communication skills as a result of mobile phone usage.

Among these 11 countries, Colombians rank in the top two most-concerned about all of these issues. Other countries that rank in the top two most-concerned on particular issues include: Mexico (identity theft and online harassment); Jordan (phone addiction and impacts on children); South Africa (exposure to tát false information and losing the ability to tát talk face-to-face); and Tunisia (phone addiction).

Beyond these country-specific differences, concerns about mobile phone use exhibit few consistent or substantial differences relating to tát gender, age, phone type or social truyền thông media usage. Notably, concerns about children are widespread across multiple groups. In most instances, men and women, older and younger adults, and social truyền thông media users and non-users express similar levels of concern about the impact of inappropriate online nội dung on children.

Additionally, men and women in most of these countries are similarly concerned about harassment and bullying – a noteworthy contrast to tát the gender-related differences often seen in surveys of online harassment among Americans. For example, a 2017 Pew Research Center survey found that 70% of women in the U.S. said online harassment was a “major problem,” compared with 54% of men.

It is relatively common for mobile phone users to tát limit the amount of time they – as well as their children – spend on their phones

“Sometimes I try to tát use [my phone] less, but it only lasts for two or three days and then I come back to tát the daily rhythm.WOMAN, 21, TUNISIA

Amid a widespread debate over the impact of various types of screens on children and adults alike, majorities of mobile phone users in five of these 11 countries say they have ever tried to tát limit the time they themselves spend on their phone. This behavior is especially common in the Philippines and Mexico, but somewhat less prevalent among mobile phone owners in Jordan, Lebanon, Venezuela and Vietnam.

In all 11 countries surveyed, điện thoại thông minh users are more likely kêu ca non-smartphone users to tát say they try to tát limit the time they spend on their mobile phone. These differences are especially prominent in Vietnam (where 46% of điện thoại thông minh users and 24% of non-smartphone users have done this) and Colombia (66% vs. 45%). And in 10 of these countries, larger shares of mobile phone users who also use social truyền thông media say they have tried to tát limit their phone use relative to tát those who bởi not use social truyền thông media.

People’s efforts to tát limit screen time also extend to tát children. Among parents whose child has access to tát a mobile phone, about half or more in seven of these countries say they ever phối limits on how much time their child can spend on their phone.¹⁰

As was true of limiting their own screen time, parents’ efforts to tát limit the time their child spends on his or her phone also differ by the type of phone they themselves own.¹¹ Smartphone-owning parents whose child also uses a mobile phone are more likely kêu ca parents with more basic phones to tát say they have tried to tát limit their child’s screen time in nine of these 11 countries. Indeed, this gap reaches double digits in nine of these 11 countries – and is as high as 22 points in Vietnam and Jordan.

Parents’ efforts to tát limit their child’s mobile phone use are also related to tát their concerns about the negative impacts of mobile phone use (such as online harassment or children being exposed to tát immoral content). In nearly every country surveyed, parents who say they are very concerned about at least five of the six issues tested are more likely to tát try to tát limit their child’s mobile phone use relative to tát those who are very concerned about two or fewer of these issues. The only exception to tát this trend is Jordan, where similar shares of highly concerned and less-concerned parents say they try to tát limit their child’s mobile phone use.

“You should be the one limiting your child. It’s up to tát you to tát make ways to tát be able to tát limit the problems that you encounter. That’s why even if my child is very interested with gadgets, he is consistently in the honor rolls … I make limitations.”WOMAN, 38, PHILIPPINES

It is common for parents to tát monitor their child’s mobile phone use, and notable shares monitor the phone activity of their spouse or partner

In the focus group interviews conducted as part of this study, mobile phone surveillance performed by immediate family members emerged as a common theme. Some parents mentioned that mobile phones allowed them to tát track the whereabouts of their children and to tát make sure they were not exposed to tát harmful nội dung. And for people in marriages or romantic relationships, mobile phone “spying” and social truyền thông media “stalking” sometimes become the source of drama, jealousy and harassment.

Among parents whose child or children use a mobile phone, a median of 50% say they ever monitor what their child is looking at or doing on the screen. But some variation exists across these countries. In Jordan, Colombia and Mexico, for example, clear majorities of parents bởi this, compared with 37% of parents in Vietnam and 38% in India.

Parents who use a điện thoại thông minh are generally more likely to tát say they monitor their child’s phone usage kêu ca parents who use a basic or feature phone. This trend is seen in 10 out of the 11 countries and is especially prominent in Jordan and Vietnam, where điện thoại thông minh users differ from other phone users by 30 percentage points each.

Parents’ likelihood of monitoring their child’s phone use also differs by their own social truyền thông media presence. Parents who use social truyền thông media and messaging apps in each country are more likely kêu ca parents who bởi not use social truyền thông media platforms to tát say they monitor nội dung on their child’s phone.

Monitoring of mobile phone activity also extends to tát marriages and romantic relationships

In all countries surveyed, it is less common to tát monitor a partner’s phone activity – although notable shares of those with a spouse or partner report doing sánh.¹² Among those whose partner or spouse uses a mobile phone, a median of 26% say they ever monitor their partner’s phone use. In the Philippines, this behavior is somewhat more common; 38% say they monitor their partner’s phone.

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In most countries surveyed, younger adults are more likely to tát monitor their partner’s phone kêu ca older adults in their country. This trend holds even after accounting for the fact that younger adults are generally more likely kêu ca older adults to tát use smartphones or social truyền thông media. In 10 countries, điện thoại thông minh users ages 18 to tát 29 are more likely to tát say they monitor their partner’s phone activity kêu ca điện thoại thông minh users ages 50 and older.

There are also notable gender differences when it comes to tát monitoring the phone activity of their significant other. In five of these 11 countries (Jordan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Mexico and Tunisia), larger shares of women kêu ca men say they ever monitor what their partner does on the phone. India is the only country surveyed where men are more likely kêu ca women to tát say they keep an eye on their partner’s phone.

When a guy commented on my post, my husband got jealous about it.WOMAN, 27, PHILIPPINESTalking from a married point of view, I think it’s brought a lot of mistrust. If my data is on at 10 in the night and someone sends something on WhatsApp, it’s always suspect. Who’s texting at 10? My husband is often suspicious.WOMAN, 32, KENYA