Talk, talk, talk: Cellphone usage study finds North Carolinians rank 8th nationally

A new study reveals that North Carolinians are among those spending the most time on their cell phones.

The state ranks eighth.

The study, conducted by sleep expert Amerisleep, analyzed each US state’s average monthly searches for 3,200 terms such as ‘battery overheating’ or ‘why is my phone not working’ to discover where there have been the most problems resulting from the frequent use of devices, therefore learning where cell phones are used the most.

Nevada comes in first place, as there are on average, 5,550.74 searches for phone problems each month, which, when compared against its population of 3,177,772, equates to 462.56 average monthly searches per 100,000 population, the highest ratio of all US states. Among the most common searches are ‘phone charging slowly’, ‘phone glitching’ and ‘iPhone screen black’, suggesting overusing devices and consequent issues.

Second is Louisiana, with 455.40 average monthly searches per 100,000 population. ‘iPhone touch screen not working’, ‘How to turn off screentime’, and ‘iPhone overheating’ are among the most common searches in the state.

With 442.54 average monthly searches per 100,000 population, Georgia takes third place. Georgians have been looking the most for keywords such as ‘Phone repair near me’ and ‘Phone parental controls’.

Further down on the list Florida is fourth with 422.56 average monthly searches per 100,000 population, while Texas closes the top five with 412.28 searches per 100,000 population.

 

At the other end of the list, West Virginia ranks last with 191.39 average monthly searches per 100,000 population, followed by South Dakota and Wisconsin, making them the states where people spend the least time on phones.

 

A spokesperson for Amerisleep said of the findings: “It’s interesting to see how people take most of their technological issues to the internet to find out what might be wrong and how common the questions are regarding any type of phone-related problems. This might also be the consequence of prolonged usage of said mobile devices, which will inevitably show signs of wear after a short period of time of owning them if not left to rest as much as needed.

“Moreover, it’s important to underline how spending so long on phones might cause our sleep patterns to shift for the worst, as exposure to blue lights has been shown to suppress melatonin, reduce sleep quality and delay the circadian rhythm.”

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