Smartphone Use Could Be Hurting Your Relationship, Study Shows

While smartphones have become an integral part of daily routine, their excessive usage is hurting the relationship of married couples in India, a study by smart device maker Vivo said on Monday.

The "Switch Off" study conducted with Cybermedia Research on "Smartphones and their impact on human relationships 2022' found that 67 percent of people confessed to being on their phones even while they're spending time with their spouse. However, 89 percent of respondents said that they spend less time engaging in relaxed conversation with their spouse than possible.

The findings also show that smartphone users agree that in-person engagements are more relaxing and they spend less time doing the same.

"Eighty-four percent of respondents wish to spend more time with their spouse. People are accepting the problems and are willing to change. Eighty-eight percent of respondents agreed that increased usage of smartphones is hurting their relationship with their spouses," the study said.

The study found 90 percent of people would want to devote more leisure time to meaningful conversations with their spouses.

According to the findings, on average, 4.7 hours are spent on a smartphone per day by respondents and this is similar across gender. Also, 73 percent of respondents accept that their spouse complained about their overindulgence on the phone instead of spending time with them.

"The study reveals that 70 percent of people get irritated when their spouse asks for something while they are immersed in their smartphones. As per the study, 66 percent of people feel that excessive usage of smartphones has weakened their relationship with their spouse," the study said.

The study has been conducted based on a survey of 1,000 consumers across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune.

"The significance of a smartphone in today's life is undisputed however excessive usage remains an area that the users need to be cautious of. As a responsible brand, we aim to underline the importance of spending time with our loved ones, for that is the true meaning of leisure time," Vivo India Head, Brand Strategy, Yogendra Sriramula said.

It found that 69 percent of respondents feel occasionally distracted by their smartphone, or not attentive enough to their spouse at times and 68 percent of partners have felt guilty at some point in time for being distracted by their phone while spending time with their spouse.

The study report said that for 90 percent of the respondents, smartphone is the most preferred way to relax. On average, each smartphone user has 1.5 hours of leisure time daily. Most of them like to spend their leisure time with family. However, they carry their smartphone while spending time with family.

According to the study, the average amount of time spent on transactional conversation and relaxed chat is almost the same, which is close to two hours.

"Eighty-nine per cent of people feel the urge to reach out to their smartphone as soon as they get some free time. The study reveals that 88 percent of respondents spend their leisure time on the smartphone, which is now a part of their behaviour," the study said.