August 29th, 2022, Kineree Shah
Cell phones have evolved from being devices with which one could make calls on the go to so much more. Latest data from YouGov Profiles, an audience intelligence tool, tells us that Americans and Britons use their mobiles for text messaging more often (76% and 75%) than making voice calls (63% and 60%).
Social activities
About three in five Americans and Britons use their cell phones at least once a day for clicking photos (61% and 62%) and sending/receiving emails (59% and 62%). Americans also tend to use mobiles more regularly than Britons when it comes to multimedia texting (50% vs 39%), visiting social networks (39% vs 36%). However, when it comes to chatting, Britons are ahead of their American counterparts, with nearly three in five (59%) regularly using their cell phones to chat, compared two in five Americans (40%).
Leisure activities
Our analysis suggests that a higher number of Americans use their phones for leisure activities - listening to music (45% vs 38%), watching videos (42% vs 31%), making videos (23% vs 18%), playing games (34% vs 27%), TV watching (15% vs 12%), reading books (14% vs 8%), listening to the radio (13% vs 11%), and participating in games or contests (10% vs 5%) - as compared to Britons.
Business activities
Britons use their mobiles for activities like finance and banking more than Americans (35% vs 27%), around a quarter of consumers (26% and 25%) on both sides of the Atlantic use it regularly to pay bills. A third of Americans and Britons use their phones at least once a day for maps and navigation (37% and 35%) while about a tenth utilize it regularly for health tracking (15% both), sports tracking (10% and 8%), scanning QR codes (15% and 13%), and smart home appliance usage (10% and 9%). Other activities such as using organizers (6% and 5%), or office software (7% and 5%) are rarely performed on a daily basis.
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Methodology
YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for US and Britain markets is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.