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Email Is Top Activity On Smartphones, Ahead Of Web Browsing & Facebook [Study]

Matt McGee on March 28, 2013 at 3:12 pm

Email is the most common activity that U.S. adults do on their smartphones, with Web browsing and using Facebook a close second and third, respectively.

That’s according to “Always Connected,” a new study from IDC that was done earlier this month and includes responses from more than 7,400 iPhone and Android users between 18 and 44 years old. Facebook sponsored the study, and so much of the data surrounds how Facebook helps users connect with others via their smartphones.

According to the study, 78 percent of respondents say they check email on their smartphones, compared to 73 percent who browse websites and 70 percent who do something on Facebook. “While the exact percentages and order vary slightly by segment,” the study says, “the top 7 activities are consistent among 18-44 year olds, males and females, Android and iOS, etc.”

It’s worth noting that just yesterday, the sixth annual comScore/Neustar/15miles Local Search Study came out with data showing that search is the top activity on mobile devices. That study is slightly different in that it looked at both smartphones and tablets, and also surveyed US adults outside of the 18-44 age group that the IDC/Facebook study looked at.

Some other interesting data from the IDC study looks at which social networks are commonly used during daily life events like going to the movies, running errands and shopping. Across eight different activities, respondents in this survey were about 4-5 times more likely to use Facebook than Twitter or LinkedIn.

Survey respondents average more than 131 minutes per day communicating on their smartphones — almost 33 of those minutes are on Facebook.

Again, it’s a Facebook-sponsored study, so you might expect a lot of Facebook-friendly data. But keep in mind that there have been countless studies not sponsored by Facebook that also reveal how much time consumers spend on the site and its mobile apps.

Facebook recently announced that it has more daily mobile users than desktop/PC users.

(tip via AllFacebook.com)

About The Author

Matt McGee

Matt McGee joined Third Door Media as a writer/reporter/editor in September 2008. He served as Editor-In-Chief from January 2013 until his departure in July 2017. He can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee.