With the approach of Mother’s Day and Father’s
Day, new survey results from ORC and T-Mobile reveal parents and
kids are using their smartphones to stay connected and strengthen
family relationships
Leave it to the Un-carrier to flip the script on phones and
families. T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS) today released results of a new
ORC Caravan study that call into question much of what we thought
we knew about the relationship between smartphone screen time and
family time. The results paint a picture, not of families drifting
apart, but of families coming together because of new tech. So much
so, that a large majority of parents—nearly 70%—say smartphones and
mobile tech make it easier to communicate with their kids, whether
by text, call, email or the full spectrum of social media
platforms.
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
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T-Mobile's study showed that families
today are using a full range of mobile technologies and media to
stay in touch. (Graphic: Business Wire)
“You know this dad loves his smartphone! And my very favorite
things are all the selfies, crazy group texts, all the DMs,
Facetimes and Snapchat stories with my daughters,” said John
Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “And now we know most moms
and dads feel the same way. Mobile is how families today stay
connected!”
Group Texts and Snapchat …The New Ways Families Stay in
TouchT-Mobile’s study showed that families today are using a
full range of mobile technologies and media to stay in touch. For
example, nearly half of all parents and kids surveyed (48%) say
they enjoy communicating as a family through group texts. Among all
social media, Facebook is the platform families use most often,
with more than half of parents (54%) saying they use it to stay in
touch with their kids. And, more surprisingly, nearly 1 in 4 (23%)
parents Snap and use Instagram (22%) with their kids,
too.
Another key finding of the study is that mobile tech isn’t just
increasing the frequency that family members connect. It’s often
improving the quality of our communications, too. In what may be a
surprise to many, a lot of families say that mobile tech helps
parents and kids share their feelings with one another more
honestly. In fact, a third of parents (33%) said that their
children are communicating their feelings to them more openly more
often with their smartphones. Sometimes a note (or text) does the
job best.
Allllll the Ways We’re Celebrating Mom and DadAmericans
are celebrating Mother’s Day next week and Father’s Day in June by
marking the occasion in numerous ways—and smartphones are playing a
key role. In the study, 6 in 10 (60%) celebrate the day in-person.
However, whether or not a visit is possible, we’re also recognizing
our parents in a variety of other ways. Close to half (45%) of kids
still call their parents. About a third (30%) text message Mom and
Dad. Another 10% of kids video chat with their ‘rents. And, many
also go for a social showing of affection. About 20% of kids post
their Mother’s/Father’s Day acknowledgements on Facebook, 5% on
Instagram and just under 5% on Snapchat.
And, there are some things that never go out of style. Nearly
30% of parents say they also receive cards and nearly 25% are also
getting flowers from their children. Nice work, kids!
Moms & Dads Love Their Smartphones More Than You’d
ThinkAnother surprise from the study is that—contrary to
conventional wisdom—kids and parents go toe-to-toe in hogging their
share of the data when forced to share data on the carriers’ shared
data plans. Almost 70% of families report having a data hog in the
household. And, despite what you might think, parents and kids both
hog their share of data. While kids account for 51%, nearly 40% of
data hogs turn out to be the parents, and 9% blamed “others” (i.e.
anyone on the plan that isn’t a parent or child—looking at you,
aunts, uncles, cousins).
Of course, it should come as no surprise that moms and dads love
their smartphones and put them to good use. Beyond the texts and
Snaps, nearly one third (28%) of dads keep track of the kids’
whereabouts through their smartphones. That compares to 20% of
moms.
You can also credit smartphones for your family photo albums.
Nearly 70% of parents say that—thanks to their smartphone—they
capture more memories with their children. And, of course, our
smartphones are great for jogging the memory. About 1 in 10 parents
(13%) admit to forgetting about a child's upcoming birthday until
they get a digital reminder. No Sixteen Candles moments here!
In fact, mobile tech now plays such a key role in keeping
families connected that parents surveyed say they’d sacrifice a LOT
before giving up this means of communicating with their kids. When
asked what they’d sacrifice (for a full month!) rather than lose
all mobile communications with their children, parents made some
surprising choices:
- 41% said they’d give up alcohol
- A full 40% would give up retail
shopping
- 2 in 5 would give up dessert (37%)—even
chocolate (37%)
- Nearly one quarter (23%) would give up
sex
- 1 in 5 (20%) would give up internet
access
- 1 in 10 would actually give up their
house (11%) and/or their car (12%)
Families Love Their Smartphones, but are Frustrated by Taxes,
Fees and Overages – and Don’t Have to BeFinally, while mobile
tech has become critical to staying connected, it isn’t all wine
and roses, especially for carrier customers. Nearly 25% of those
surveyed said they’ve called their carrier about confusing taxes
and fees. And, nearly 10% admitted that they’ve brought to tears by
shock overages in their monthly bill! Yikes! Both are things
Un-carrier customers don’t have to worry about. With T-Mobile ONE,
everything is unlimited and monthly taxes and fees are
included!
For more about T-Mobile ONE, visit:
https://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans.
The T-Mobile study polled 1,014 individuals online via ORC’s
Caravan omnibus survey. The margin of error is +/-3 percentage
points. ORC International is a top 20 global business intelligence
firm that helps today’s leading organizations better understand
their employees, customers and markets and transform their business
performance. With its CARAVAN® Omnibus solutions, organizations can
quickly and reliably add critical insight to their next pitch,
press release or campaign. More information on CARAVAN can be found
here.
On all T-Mobile plans, if the network becomes intermittently
congested, top 3% of data users (>30 GB/mo.) may notice reduced
speeds due to prioritization. Video typically streams at DVD
quality (480p). Sales tax and regulatory fees included in monthly
service price. See in-store materials for specifics in your
state
About T-Mobile US, Inc.As America's Un-carrier, T-Mobile US,
Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is redefining the way consumers and businesses
buy wireless services through leading product and service
innovation. Our advanced nationwide 4G LTE network delivers
outstanding wireless experiences to 72.6 million customers who are
unwilling to compromise on quality and value. Based in Bellevue,
Washington, T-Mobile US provides services through its subsidiaries
and operates its flagship brands, T-Mobile and MetroPCS. For more
information, please visit http://www.t-mobile.com.
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