Men Make More Cell Calls than Women

September 20, 2011

Despite gender stereotypes of women talking on the phone more often, when it comes to cell phones men are more likely to place a call,according to [pdf] data released by the Pew Research Center in September 2011. On average, male cell phone users place 13.8 calls per day, compared to only 10.8 for women.

There is also a strong correlation between age and average number of daily cell phone calls. Cell phone users age 18 to 29 make an average of 17.1 calls per day. This figure drops somewhat to 14.5 calls per day for those age 30-49, and then plummets to 8.8 for those age 50-64 and only 3.8 for cell phone users age 65 and up. This means the youngest adult cell phone users make than four times as many calls in a typical day as the oldest cell phone users.

In addition, black, non-Hispanic cell phone users make more average daily cell phone calls (19.6) than Hispanic (17.2) or white, non-Hispanic (9.4) cell phone users. Cell phone calls also diminish with rising educational levels.

However, there is some variation in cell phone use by level of education. High school graduates place the most cell phone calls in an average day (15.4), followed by those with less than a high school diploma (11.6), those with a college degree or more (11.2), and those with some college (10.1).

Cell Phone Owners Average 12 Calls Per Day

Cell owners make or receive an average of 12.3 voice calls per day, with the median cell user engaging in five voice calls. Both of these are figures are largely unchanged from what Pew found in its May 2010 survey.

Voice calling remains extremely common overall, as just 4% of cell owners say that they make or receive no voice calls on an average day. By comparison 27% of cell owners do not use text messaging, even on occasion.

Calling, Texting Highly Correlated

Pew data indicates calling and texting are highly correlated, with cell owners who text often also making a large number of voice calls, and vice versa. Cell owners who send or receive 0-10 texts on a normal day make or receive an average of 8.2 voice calls. Meanwhile, cell owners who send or receive 11-20 texts on a normal day make or receive an average of 13.6 voice calls.

Furthermore, cell owners who send or receive 21-50 texts on a normal day make or receive an average of 18.6 voice calls; while cell owners who send or receive more than 50 texts on a normal day, make or receive an average of 30.2 voice calls.

Pew data shows that 83% of American adults own cell phones.

Cell Owners Still Prefer Voice

When asked how they prefer to be contacted if someone needs to reach them on their cell phone, a majority of cell owners (53%) say that they prefer a voice call, compared with 31% who say that they prefer to be contacted via text message. An additional 14% say that the contact method they prefer depends on the situation.

Nielsen: Smartphones Surge among 18-24-Yr-Olds

The percentage of US smartphone owners in the 18-24-year-old bracket grew 60% between Q3 2010 and Q2 2011, according to August 2011 data from The Nielsen Company. Meanwhile, the percentage of tablet and e-reader owners age 45 and up increased.

In Q3 2010, 10% of smartphone owners were age 18-24. This figure increased to 16% in Q2 2011. Meanwhile, the percentage of smartphone owners age 13-17 plummeted 80%, from 10% to 2%. In addition, growth of roughly 10% occurred in smartphone ownership rates among 35-to-44-year-olds (17% to 19%) and those 55 and up (16% to 18%). Smartphone ownership stayed flat among 25-to-34-year-olds and 45-to-54-year-olds.

About the Data: These results come from a nationally representative phone survey of 2,277 adults ages 18 and older conducted from April 26-May 22, 2011, including 755 cell phone interviews.