Last updated January 15, 2024
The Smartphone Turnoff: 1-in-5 admit to checking their phones while having sex. It’s time to turn off those phones and stop making smartphones the biggest turnoff in the bedroom.
Almost 1 in 5 women will gladly check their phone while they’re engaged in bedroom intimacy.
71.0% of people spend more time on their phone each day than they do with their partner.
49.6% of smartphone owners will check their phone on a romantic date.
7.6% of people will check Tinder or message another person for a better option while they are on a date with someone else!
Phone addiction statistics show we are absolutely hooked on our handsets all year round. We spend more time with our phone than we do with the actual humans around us, and with so many SMS and WhatsApp messages sent a day, it is no surprise we are addicted to our phones! For people in relationships, this can become toxic quickly. Single folk aren’t immune to the alluring afterglow of their handset, either, so don’t rest on your laurels singletons!
With cuffing season upon us, single peeps everywhere are looking to partner up and make that massive expanse of king-sized double bed a little less like a barren, frozen tundra. How? By filling it with another person, obviously! But with so many people addicted to their smartphones, and many people spending more time bathed in the glow of their phone screen rather than bathing in the attention of another person, are smartphones making dating and sex lives more toxic? Cuffing, by the way, is the act of coupling up with a partner, usually during the autumn and winter months when the temperature drops and the nights draw in.
Looking at the stats, we can certainly say that smartphone addiction is definitely making people’s intimate relationships more toxic. SellCell has surveyed smartphone users to find out how much time they dedicate to their smartphone compared to their sex life, and the results are shocking. Will cuffing season 2023 be a damp squib, kicked to the kerb by dopamine hits, bright screens, and short attention spans? SellCell thinks it will… see why below…
Main Findings
- When asked, 17.0% of women admitted that they have (or would) check their phone DURING lovemaking or intimacy. Only 7.0% of men said they have done (or would do) this. (Pro-tip: don’t do this).
- Women are also the worst culprits for phone snubbing—or phubbing—in the bedroom or on a date, with 78.0% of women rolling over to check their smartphone rather than to check their partner out. Men aren’t much better, with 64.0% of them phubbing their partner.
- 49.6% of people, worryingly, will check their smartphone on a date, even with their date sat in front of them, so singletons should avoid this if they want their date to go well.
- Of all smartphone owners, 54% would prefer to spend time with their smartphone than their partner, which doesn’t bode well for warm winter loving.
- 36.0% of people state that their use, or a partner’s use, of a smartphone has a negative impact on their relationships.
- 75.2% of smartphone users will spend up to 30 minutes on their smartphone during a romantic date.
- 35.7% of people on a date would sit there gazing at their phone instead of longingly into their partner’s eyes.
- 56.0% of people would say that if they used their phone less, their partners would be happier; partakers in cuffing season should take note!
- A sneaky 51.0% claim to have checked their partner’s messages on the down-low, without their partner knowing.
- 57.0% of people say they have caught their partner checking their phone without having asked them first.
- Got a date you hope to couple up with? Don’t do what 7.6% of smartphone owners would do and sneak off to the bathroom/toilet in the bar to attend to their smartphone, or start frantically swiping through Tinder to find a better option! How rude!
- And if you end up back at your date’s apartment, respect the fact that they might have “no phone zones”, like 18% of smartphone owners who don’t look at their phones in the bedroom.
Phone Addiction Statistics: Summary of Findings
Will cuffing season start with a bang, or are singletons destined for a winter solace of solitude thanks to their smartphones? The phone addiction statistics speak volumes…
Phone Addiction Statistics: The Effect of Smartphones on Dates
First, we will look at how smartphones can ruin a date. We all know a successful date can lead to a successful relationship. Don’t jeopardise future lovin’ for the sake of a voyeuristic peek at your smartphone.
Using a Phone on a Date
- Tempted to use your phone on your first date with a potential winter lover? Why not stay with the (very underwhelming) majority of people (50.4%) who can leave their phone in their bag or pocket for a full two hours.
- Of those who will use a phone on a date, at least 35.7% will do it in full view of the person on the date with them. A sneaky 6.4% will look at their phone under the table, and 7.6% of people will go to the toilet to have a look. WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO HIDE?
Length of Time Using Phone on a Date
- As the above chart shows, 75.2% will only spend up to 30 minutes on their phone during a date. However, 4.2% of phone owners will spend two hours or more on their phone. Why even bother getting ready and leaving the house for your date? This is maximum phubbing.
Reason for Using a Phone on a Date
- 3.8% of people with no moral compass will use their phone to search on Tinder for better dating options. 3.8% of people with an equally devil-may-care-attitude to other people’s feelings will message another prospective date!
- 12.3% of people will check their phone if their date is boring them. Perhaps decide if they are boring before agreeing to go on a date. Also, consider that you might be the boring one; it is you looking at your phone instead of providing scintillating chat.
- 35.1% of people will use their phone to take selfies on a date (why don’t you just take yourself out on a date if you love yourself that much?).
- 11.7% of people will check their phone because they say “[I] need to check my phone all the time”. If this doesn’t point directly at toxic smartphone addiction, we don’t know what does!
Phone Addiction Statistics: The Effect of Smartphones on Relationships
Now, we will dig into how phone addiction can be toxic for relationships. Single people, take note as you couple up! These phone addiction statistics are a great way to gauge how to behave on your date…
Overall Respondents (Male and Female)
| QUESTION | YES | NO |
|---|---|---|
| Would you rather spend time on your phone than in your partner’s company? | 54% | 46% |
| Do you usually check your phone before saying good morning to your partner? | 76% | 24% |
| Do you ever message your partner when they are in the house with you rather than speak to them face to face? | 30% | 70% |
| Have you ever had a disagreement with your partner by text whilst in the same house? | 26% | 74% |
| When you eat dinner together do you ever check or play with your phone? | 42% | 58% |
| Do you have any ‘no phone zones’ in your home, like the bedroom for example? | 18% | 82% |
| Have you ever interrupted lovemaking or bedroom intimacy to check your phone? | 12% | 88% |
| Does your partner know the passcode to your phone? | 63% | 37% |
| Would you let your partner use your phone? | 34% | 66% |
| Have you ever caught your partner snooping on your phone? | 39% | 61% |
| Have you ever placed your phone face down on the table in the company of your partner so they can’t see messages/activity? | 21% | 79% |
| Has phone use in your relationship ever caused arguments with your partner? | 25% | 75% |
- DO NOT be like the 12.0% of people who will actually interrupt sex so they can check their phone. Jeez, what is wrong with you?!
- Singletons should know that 54.0% of people would rather be on their phone than spend time with you.
- If you have already made it home with someone, make sure you say good morning to them the next day, before you check your phone. Only 24.0% of people do this!
- On a dinner date with a potential winter squeeze? Stay with the 58.0% of people who don’t check their phone, then.
- Heading upstairs to a date’s bedroom? They might have a no-phone zone, like 18.0% of all smartphone owners. Respect it.
- Want to earn a date’s trust so you can couple up this winter? Leave your phone face up on the table so you’re not hiding your messages or activity, then. 79.0% of people can manage this; so can you.
Responses Broken Down by Gender
| QUESTION | FEMALE RESPONDENTS | MALE RESPONDENTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YES | NO | YES | NO | |
| On an average day, do you spend more ‘personal’ time on your phone than with your partner? | 78% | 22% | 64% | 36% |
| Do you usually check your phone before saying good morning to your partner? | 80% | 20% | 72% | 28% |
| Do you ever message your partner when they are in the house with you rather than speak to them face to face? | 24% | 76% | 36% | 64% |
| Have you ever had a disagreement with your partner by text whilst in the same house? | 19% | 81% | 33% | 67% |
| When you eat dinner together do you ever check or play with your phone? | 46% | 54% | 38% | 62% |
| Do you have any ‘no phone zones’ in your home, like the bedroom for example? | 22% | 78% | 14% | 86% |
| Have you ever interrupted lovemaking or bedroom intimacy to check your phone? | 17% | 83% | 7% | 93% |
| Does your partner know the passcode to your phone? | 71% | 29% | 55% | 45% |
| Would you let your partner use your phone? | 40% | 60% | 28% | 72% |
| Have you ever caught your partner snooping on your phone? | 35% | 65% | 43% | 57% |
| Have you ever placed your phone face down on the table in the company of your partner so they can’t see messages/activity? | 15% | 85% | 27% | 73% |
| Has phone use in your relationship ever caused arguments with your partner? | 22% | 78% | 28% | 72% |
- Come on now, ladies. Is sex that bad for 17.0% of you that you need to check your phone halfway through the act? And what are 7% of men doing checking their phone during lovemaking? It’s just… weird…
- 78.0% of women and 64.0% of men spend more of their personal time on their phone than they do with their partner. Seriously, stop phubbing the person next to you, it’ll kill a potential relationship.
- Over half of women (54.0%) and almost two-thirds of men (62.0%) don’t check their phone during a dinner date. Keep that up if you are one of them! If you’re not, have a word with yourself. It can’t be that important!
- Over a quarter (27.0%) of men put their phone face down on the table in the company of a date, while only 15.0% of women do this. What exactly have you got to hide? This won’t instill confidence in a potential partner if you are looking to couple up for winter.
- 22% of women and 14% of men have no phone zones in their home. Heading back for that “coffee” after your date? At least leave your phone in your pocket when things heat up and head to the bedroom…
- …and the next day, say good morning to your lover before you check your phone. Don’t be part of the 80.0% of women and 72.0% of men who can’t conceive of this notion.
Phone Addiction Statistics: Spying on a Partner
Checking someone else’s phone without them knowing could actually be against the law, according to SellCell research. If your partner or date is showing symptoms of phone addiction, you might wonder what they are doing on their phone. Try to resist the urge to find out…
Reasons for Checking a Partner’s Phone Without Permission
- 51.0% of people admit to checking their partner’s phone to look through their messages illicitly.
- Likewise, 51.0% of people are also looking through their partner’s phone without asking, in order to look through their photos.
- Social media rifling is the reason that 52.0% of people will go through their partner’s phone behind their back.
- Watching Netflix on your partner’s phone in secret? You’re part of the 60.0% of people who do this.
- 55.0% of people sneakily check their partner’s phone to go through their emails.
Winter Is Coming… And People Are Coupling Up (With Their Smartphone)
So, single people… Thanks to SellCell, you now know exactly what not to do when you are trying to couple down with someone for the winter. Leave your phone in your pocket or bag, don’t sit through a date taking selfies, and DEFINITELY don’t sit there swiping right on Tinder while your poor date sits across the table from you; who do you think you are?!
With phone addiction very much a part of our society, it really isn’t that much of a surprise that people behave in this manner. We have learned to communicate through a six-inch screen, rather than looking up and seeing the people around us, and interacting properly with them.
SellCell’s Fexting survey, looks at how many people now automatically fight and argue by text message with their loved ones rather than resolving issues calmly face to face. The survey shows us that 80% of phone users can’t resist sending and responding to angry texts. Phone addiction is not just toxic for our relationships—it is toxic for your lives in general, and the sooner we realise this, the better for everyone.
Methodology
SellCell recorded results from surveys of 5018 smartphone owners, to understand their phone use and its effects on their dating life, their relationships, and how it makes them behave when interacting with their phone, their partner, and their partners phone. No personal details were recorded when collecting the data.