Vodafone Zoom: IF THERE WERE NO MOBILES …

The survey „If there were no mobiles“ (within the scope of the Vodafone Zone cycle) has offered interesting findings on the role mobile telephones play in our lives and:

• how they ease, improve or enrich our lives,
• how they help us organize our private and work lives,
• the number of different functions they have,
• if we could imagine life without mobile telephones.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT FINDINGS

• Almost all of the respondents admitted that mobile telephones help their lives; 87 % say that mobiles actually make their lives easier.
• At present mobile telephones play a larger role in one’s private life than in his working life.
• We most appreciate and utilize mobile telephones in relationships and communicating with friends and acquaintances.
• The mobile’s biggest benefit is the fact that we can change our minds or inform „at the last minute“.
• Mobile telephones are the most frequently used alarm clocks and the most important source of contacts. If one lost his telephone, up to a half of those asked would be without any contacts.
• Only about half of the functions of mobile telephones are utilized and almost 80 % of those asked admit that they could better utilize their telephones.
• Up to 1/3 of the respondents could not survive without a mobile and consider the phone to be one of the essential needs for life.
• Almost 1/5 of those asked would not change their mobiles for anything else.

THE ROLE OF THE MOBILE TELEPHONE FOR LIFE

Almost all of the respondents (95 %) said that mobile telephones help their lives; half of them admitted that mobiles significantly help their lives and play a positive role. Up to 87 % of those asked claim that mobile telephones make their lives significantly easier.

The most important benefit of the mobile telephone is communication and making changes „at the last minute“ (45 %) or in an emergency (23 %). We also like using mobile telephones when we are lonely or when we want to share joyful information with others.

Mobile telephones especially help in communicating with friends and with work-related activities. They are also useful in making introductions and in the „management family“.

55 % and 42 % of the people confirmed that mobile telephones have a role in their personal and professional lives, respectively. The mobile is not related to any sort of compensation in one’s personal life but plays a significant role in mediating communication with loved ones.

It is interesting to note the change in the use of mobiles at work and privately compared to the time mobile telephones first entered the market; at that time starting entrepreneurs used mobiles for their work-related activities. On the other hand we have not learned how to utilize phones for time management, getting information or entertainment.

INDIVIDUAL FACETS OF LIFE

Relationships
Almost 1/3 of the respondents claim that mobile telephones played a role when meeting new people. This especially applies to emotional young women at the age of 15 to 24. More than a half of those asked claim that mobile telephones help in their partnership.

Work
50 % of those asked used mobile telephones at work occasionally or on a regular basis. This mainly concerns extrovert married men at the age of 25 to 34. Almost 60 % of the respondents claimed that mobile telephones make their working lives easier. Only 5 % do not use their telephones at work at all.

Family
Up to 86 % of the respondents admitted that the mobile is occasionally used to organize their family. This mainly concerns emotional extrovert married women at the age of 35 to 54. Family organization without a mobile would be more difficult for 60 % of those asked and 3 % actually stated that the thought was inconceivable.

Friends and acquaintances
Up to 60 % of those asked stated that they use mobile telephones for communicating with friends, ether occasionally or always (the highest number of all the sections). A total of 84 % of the respondents insisted that the mobile makes making arrangements with friends easier. Only 1 % did not use mobiles for organizing meetings with friends.

INDIVIDUAL FUNCTIONS OF THE MOBILE TELEPHONE

The mobile telephone mainly offers the practicality of a phone book, a communicator, an alarm clock, a calculator and day timer. In this light it has successfully replaced specialized items that had been previously used.

Mobile telephones are slowly starting to take on a role in the social aspect as well; some of those asked use it for personal entertainment and pleasure as well as for peace of mind.

Ranked behind calling and SMSs the alarm clock and calculator are the functions most often used and do not bring on any additional expenses for the user. People have expressed interesting opinions in terms of the frequency and popularity of mainly the alarm clock, a tool we often use but not overly happily. On the contrary MMSs and the Internet are more popular but not utilized as often.

The most common way of waking up is with the help of the mobile alarm clock; only 1 in 5 of those asked used a traditional alarm clock. 80 % of the people claimed that the mobile telephone was definitely the most important source of contact between friends and acquaintances. Only 6 % of the people used a traditional day-timer. In the total ranking the mobile’s phone book was ranked first and the day-timer fifth.

Up to 1/3 of the respondents used the mobile telephone as a source of information and news (by way of WAP). This mainly concerns male extroverts in the ages of 15 to 24 and 34 to 45.

1/3 of those asked had already used the traffic news on WAP, enjoyed entertainment, played a game or downloaded a melody or logo by using WAP.

DEGREE OF MOBILE TELEFONE UTILIZATION

85 % of the respondents claimed to have their lives under control. This mainly concerns young, rational, extrovert married males in the age of 25 to 34. On the other hand they only utilize 60 % of their time (40 % is available) and utilize only about 50 % of the functions of the telephone. Up to 77 % of those asked felt that they could better utilize the functions of a mobile

LIFE WITHOUT A MOBILE

Up to 1/3 of those asked said they could not survive without a mobile telephone and that their telephone was an essential need in their lives. This mainly concerns young, emotional extrovert females at the age of 25 to 34.

If telephones were to disappear, up to 50 % of the respondents would completely lose all of their contacts. Only 13 % have their contacts listed elsewhere as well; we rely on the mobile telephone the most in this respect.

Almost 1/5 of those asked would never exchange their mobile for anything else. 60 % would certainly request compensation and a 1/3 would request very high compensation.

A concluding quotation:
“Exchanging my telephone is not a question of money. It is impossible to put a value to my mobile, as it is my partner, who never bores me. It is the go-between with people I don’t see. I don’t think I’d ever exchange it for anything“.

Basic information about the survey:

• 403 people from throughout the Czech Republic at the age of 15 to 54.
• The company United Interactive’s Internet panel
• January 6 – 11, 2006