Portable, discrete and full of secrets, smartphones today are a hub of embarrassing information for one in five Brits, according to new research from mobile operator Three.
With smartphone ownership expected to account for 80% of all phones sold by the end of 2012, more and more ‘Moarders’ (Mobile Hoarders) risk serious embarrassment if their phone was to fall into the wrong hands.
For Southern ‘Moarders’, self-portraits top the embarrassment list with one in five people confessing to keeping uncomfortable pictures of themselves pouting and posing on their smartphones. Surprisingly, the research also discovered that men are rather sentimental, with twice the amount of men than women (2:1) admitting to storing pictures of their ex-partners on their phone.
Worryingly one in 10 of those under 35 admit to keeping details of who they have been stalking on Facebook, whilst 12 per cent of 18-34 year olds reveal their taste in music is not always on trend and confess they’d suffer ‘shuffle shame’ if anyone stumbled across their music collection.
Sylvia Chind, head of handsets at Three said, “Advances in technology and constant access to the internet has meant that smartphones have truly become an integral part of our daily lives, and are now another window into who we are. For many they act like a secret companion that won’t judge your taste in music or inclination for watching cheesy TV dramas.”
Top five smartphone embarrassments:
- Uncomfortable pictures of yourself posing and pouting
- ‘Shuffle shame’ music
- Sentimental pictures of ex-partners
- Details of people you’ve been stalking on social networks
- Bookmarks/links to articles on embarrassing health problems
