TORONTO – While many Canadians send off quick electronic messages, the majority still pick up the phone to catch up and stay connected, according to a new Angus Reid survey commissioned by Primus Canada.
The survey, which was conducted May 25- 26 among 1,516 randomly selected adults who are Angus Reid forum panel members, found that 83% of Canadians have an active home phone line primarily because they want a phone number that's tied to their household or family, rather than just to them personally. More than half (67%) say their extended family members contact them primarily at their home number, followed by friends at 63%, parents at 49%, spouse/partner at 47% and kids at 35%.
Given the choice between the phone, email, text, or social media, more Canadians choose to relay good news and important messages by phone. The survey found that 56% call to say ‘Happy Birthday!’ where only 20% chose social media, 12% email and 5% text message. Asking for a favour also requires a conversation, with 65% choosing to talk it out compared to texting and emailing (both at 8%) or social media (2%).
In addition, 67% of respondents said that they prefer to call when they’re running late. Text message follows at 24%, email at 4% and social media at 1%.
While email edges out the phone slightly when it comes to keeping in touch on a regular basis, the difference is only 3%, the survey continued, with 33% choosing email, 30% a phone call, 23% social media and 11% text message. Email is the big winner overall when it comes to how Canadians spend their time online, with 95% reporting that email is what they typically use the Internet for, followed by general research at 81%, banking at 77%, news at 65% and social networking at 59%.
