People Spend 85 Percent Of Time On Smartphones Using Apps, But Which Apps Are Used The Most?

Smartphones have become so popular that people spend a ton of their time using them. Eighty-five percent of that time is spent using apps. However, that does not mean 85 percent of apps are used. There are only five apps that are extremely popular with users, and most people will be able to guess which ones.

According to new research on smartphones and their use, researchers found that only five non-natives apps, downloaded from the App Store, are used 84 percent of the time. The results of the study were reported by Tech Crunch, and the exact five apps will depend on the person. It seems that social media and gaming have both become extremely popular for individuals, with instant messaging also taking a top spot.

Two thousand smartphone owners in the United States were asked questions about how they use their phones. The surveyors wanted to know about the type of apps that have been downloade and the ones that are used the most. When compiling the results, voice calls and text messaging were not included.

Only a small number of companies are dominating the app market, despite many businesses saying they are favorites. Facebook covers just 13 percent of the time spent on apps, followed by Google at 12 percent. Many people may have expected one or the other to be much higher, considering how often they see people on their smartphones. Amazon, Apple, Yahoo, eBay and Microsoft are also on the list of tech companies whose apps are used regularly. When use is divided into categories, just 14 percent of time is spent on social media sites.

There are certainly some limitations to the results. Only 2,000 out of the millions of smartphone owners were involved in the research. It could vary considerably more if all smartphones were considered, especially when different ages are taken into consideration. The results also depended on people giving honest answers. Some may have kept their estimated time low, not realizing just how much they were using their phones.

The research is important, though, as more research looks into the health links to smartphones. A German study recently showed that there may be a link between the technology and interference with pacemakers. While Medpage Today does state that the risk is low, but patients are advised to keep their phones away from their hearts. Only 0.3 percent of patients found interference occurred during the study. The full risks with smartphones are still unknown, but research continues, and there may be risks to high use of the technological devices.