If you just checked your phone to read this, you’re not alone. A new study from tech company Asurion reveals Americans check their phones an average of 96 times a day.
This works out to once every 10 minutes — a 20% increase from its study into the subject just two years ago.
The study also revealed that 18-24-year olds check their phones twice as much as the average American, although they’re well aware of their habit: 68% are more likely than the average person to try to limit their phone time.
The number-one reason we check our phones so much is to keep in touch with friends and loved ones. What’s more, the research revealed that for the first time, texting has replaced calling someone on their smartphones, even among the last hold-outs: baby boomers. In fact, the study found boomers are now seven times more likely to text they are to talk in-person, and twice as likely to text than they are to make a call.
Also revealing: nine out of ten Americans get offended when someone checks their phone while they’re talking in person, but 75% of them admit to doing it themselves, with one in five saying they do it “frequently.”
All that said, 50% of Americans insist their cellphone use makes them more productive, not more distracted.