Quite a contrast with LIRNEasia's research on women's use of mobiles!

Quite a contrast with LIRNEasia’s research on women’s use of mobiles!

Posted on July 4, 2007 / 5 Comments

The survey below, commissioned by Samsung in the US, contrasts with LIRNEasia’s research on teleuse by women at the Bottom of the Pyramid, still in the process of being written up. Our Pakistan findings, being discussed on a PK focused blog, provide the starkest contrast.

Survey Reveals Important Role Mobile Phones Play in Women’s Lives

“A cell phone does much more than make calls for the Single Mobile Female,” said Randy Smith, vice president of channel marketing for Samsung. “The cell phone is an integral part of the SMF’s life, serving as a pocket-size detective, matchmaker, wing-woman and beyond. It is now officially a girl’s best friend.”

Cellular Singles

* Saved by the bell. More than one out of three SMFs have had a friend call them to interrupt a date (34%).
* So you think you can trust your girlfriend … A whopping 70 percent of females surveyed said they have snooped on their significant other’s cell phone. For example, they have looked through text messages or picked up their phone to see who is calling.
* I’m sorry, you’re breaking up. I can’t hear you. Click! Single mobile females are not only using their cell phones to make calls, but they are using them to avoid calls, too.
* 40 percent of respondents have faked technical difficulties to avoid someone they were not interested in dating.

5 Comments

Peenn
July 4, 2007, 1:19 pm
It has to be a contrast. How can you compare a woman in USA with a poor woman in Pakistan?

Apples and Oranges.
zzainudeen
July 4, 2007, 5:45 pm
An interesting issue which arises is how do we know that this kind of behavior is limited to womens’ use only? How do we know whether men are not using the phone in simliar ways?

In order to ascertain that such behavior is unique to women, men have to be comparably studied also. For example, Moyal (1992) concludes that women use telephones for longer-duration calls and to use it primarily for relationship maintenance. Moyal only studies women (and incidentally, uses women to conduct the interviews). Leaving aside issues of apples and oranges, the Samsung study also only studies women (‘more than 500 U.S. unmarried females ages 18 to 35 who have a cell phone).
Zoom Zoom
July 4, 2007, 8:39 pm
I have seen a public phone call simphony using GSM technology in several garment factories and got to know that many girls are using a card with a mobile number. I tried to buy but i couldn’t find it anywhere. anyone knows about this card
samarajiva
July 5, 2007, 12:17 pm
See comment by Rizak under the Bharti slow start thread.
Babar Bhatti
July 6, 2007, 10:45 pm
It makes sense to have this divergence … mobiles are highly personal and a reflection of the social environment. Good thing is that these studies are providing a window to learn about the drivers of mobile usage.