One in four teens believe they could go a month or more without using a computer
Nomophobia. Smartphone addiction. Texting thumb. Over the past decade, a slew of new phrases have been created in order to make sense of society’s ever-growing dependence on cellular technology. These terms are used in abundance specifically in reference to teenagers who, as recent reports show, start receiving their own cellphones before they can drive.
To better understand just how attached teenagers are to their technological devices, YouGov surveyed a group of individuals between the ages of 13-17 on their tech-related habits.Over a third of American teens reported that they didn’t think they could last even a day without their smartphone (38%). The large majority, 71%, felt that they wouldn’t be able to go without their smartphone for even a week.
Sixteen year olds were particularly unwilling to part with their phones for any length of time—over half (53%) agree they couldn’t go a day without using their smartphone.
Perhaps due to the ever-growing range of capabilities that cellular devices possess, teenagers are less dependent on their computers. As far as functioning without a laptop or desktop, one in four teens, 25%, believe that they would be capable of not using one for a month or more.
