PERHAPS UNSURPRISINGLY, most global wireless consumers still use their phones to talk, rather than text or email, a new study has found.
According to a poll of 18,002 adults in 24 countries conducted by Ipsos OTX (Open Thinking Exchange), six in ten (61%) respondents indicate they most often call when wanting to communicate with someone by phone, while three in ten (32%) text them and 7% email them.
The study also found that those most likely to choose calling as their primary mode when wanting to communicate with someone by phone are from China (91%), Poland (86%) and Turkey (84%). Canada ranked in the middle of the pack at 58%, followed by the US at 57%.
Texting is chosen most often by those from Great Britain (55%), South Africa (54%) and Indonesia (52%), while the United States and Canada clustered around the center of the list at 39% and 37%, respectively.
Email is the method of choice most often by those in Japan (46%), Germany (13%) and Hungary (12%), but was considerably lower in both Canada (6%) and the US (4%).
Demographically, texting is significantly more popular among those under the age of 35 (42%) than those aged 35-49 (28%) and those 50-64 (18%). Contrastingly, those aged 50-64 are most likely to choose to call (74%) when compared with their younger counterparts (35-49 = 65% and under 35 = 52%).
Men (67%) appear considerably more likely than women (56%) to reach for their phones mostly for calling, while women (37%) appear more likely than men (27%) to primarily choose to text. Both genders are equally likely (7%) to email.
These findings are part of the research led by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange collected by Ipsos Global @dvisor as part of Sociologue, an ongoing publication that features commentary on social media trends and behavior. The research was conducted between July 2 and 16, 2013.
