In an age of advancing portable technology and smartphones, staying connected to our loved ones, to our work and the world around us has never mattered more. However, new research from Huawei has shown that three quarters of people frequently run out of battery without the means to recharge straight away, leading to stress, frustration and anger.
According to the new research, losing battery means a negative physical reaction. Naturally most respondents feel disconnected when their phone battery dies, but 2 in 5 also say this causes them stress. More than 1 in 10 (12%) even feel angry – with 5% even saying that they react with sweaty palms! Academics have even named the worry around not having access to a working mobile phone – “nomophobia.”
Running out of charge has its consequences with getting lost and standing up a date amongst the possibilities.
- Amongst those surveyed, getting lost is the worst thing about running out of battery, along with not being able to get home
- 1 in 10 even reported standing up a date because of a lost battery
- Over two thirds of the 25-34 age group even claimed they’d rather be locked out of their house than have no phone battery for a day
- A further 30% of 25-34-year olds would go without hot water than have their phones run out of charge
- 4% of those surveyed even stated they had lost a job because of running out of battery
- 4% also stated that they had broken up with someone or have been broken up with as a result of not being contactable, because their phone battery had run out of charge
Regional breakdown shows that those in the capital are most in need of a charge, whilst those in Aberdeen are best placed:
- London topped the list as the city where phone batteries run out fastest. 35% of those surveyed in London said that they typically have to recharge by midday on most days – much earlier than other cities.
- Birmingham was next, with people losing battery at 1:43pm on average.
- Other cities lose their battery closer to 3pm – like Manchester (2:45pm), Liverpool (3:14pm), Edinburgh (3:30pm) and Cardiff (3:56pm).
- Those in Aberdeen conserve their phone battery the best, by holding off until 5:28pm to charge their phones.
When asked on whether people would donate their own battery life to someone in need provoked mixed responses. Over a third (36%) said they would be selective about who they donate to and one in five (21%) said they’d only donate if a friend had less than 2% power left. Conversely, 19% said they’d feel like a hero if they could donate to charge friends’ phones and 14% said they’d even like someone more if they donated to them.
