Porn and Shallow Relationships on the Very Small Screen
XXXChurch recently shared some statistics from a study about how iPhones and Blackberries are used. It seems that as people flock to mobile devices, they’re starting to use them for pornography and for managing parts of their relationships that probably shouldn’t be managed electronically:
The “study” involved polling 445 iPhone and Blackberry users about their relationships with other people and their kit, and discovered that iPhone users consider themselves to be extrovert intellectuals who know a lot about the media but find a lack of high-tech gadgets to be a turn off.
35 per cent of iPhone owners said they would find a partner with out-of-date electronics a turn off, though a quarter have dumped someone who was spending too much time playing with their phone.
33 per cent of those with an iPhone have used a text message or e-mail to break up with a partner – which is harsh, though nothing beats fax for that sharing-the-pain experience. When it comes to good news electronics are, apparently, out: none of those polled would propose marriage by text or e-mail.
When not dating, 20 per cent of iPhone users admitted to frequently watching adult material on their 3.5-inch screen, and more than 60 per cent consider themselves to be extrovert.
Porn use on these devices doesn’t surprise me; the adult industry always finds a way to exploit new technologies, and unfortunately far too many people succumb to the temptations they offer. (For what it’s worth, XXXChurch has submitted a version of their XXXChurch software to Apple’s app store and are currently awaiting approval, which should hopefully help those who want accountability find it wherever they connect to the internet.)
However, I was surprised by the statistics about ending relationships via text messages or email. It seems to me that you owe it to the person you’re dating to have that conversation in person.
Do you think that the advent of these technologies is making it too easy to pursue shallow relationships? How have you seen smart device usage affect your relationships? Have you seen positive change come about in any of your relationships because of technologies like the iPhone or Blackberry?
I think that they present an easy out at times.
445 people is ridiculously small number out of 68 million users to base generalizations off of. The other key element to make sense of the data would be the age groups of those in the so called “survey.” I suspect half or more of the respondents are under the age of 25. If that’s true none of this sounds unusual.