Mobile use triples in a decade

[The Feedster]

BT has published a study looking at the way we communicate in the UK, and has uncovered some obvious, yet startling truths about mobile phone use.

In just under a decade, the average person in the UK is three times more likely to own a mobile phone, rising from just 23 per cent of us in 1998 to 86 per cent today.

Think about it, and it's likely both your parents have got one. Even your Gran has an old Nokia in her handbag these days, you know, 'just in case'.

And the humble SMS? Barely heard of 10 years ago. Now over half of us regularly indulge in the joy of text as a way of getting our message across.

No mobile? No thanks

Ultimately, we couldn't live without our mobile phone, it seems, with 45 per cent of respondents claiming they couldn't live without their handset (possible weeping while admitting that too.)

In fact, 58 per cent of us rarely, if ever, turn off their mobile phone, preferring to be woken up in the middle of the night by a drunken mate who 'just wanted a chat'.

But alas, video calling, the 'technology of the future' according to Tomorrow's World 15 years ago, is still a no-go for most people.

Only two per cent of us use the service, despite most 3G phones carrying a forward facing camera.

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