About 88% of married Indians feel overuse of smartphones is hurting relationship

Fast technological innovation has led to an era of hyperconnectivity. But on the downside, overuse and over-reliance on technology have been negatively impacting real-life relationships, said a recent study by market research firm CyberMedia Research’s (CMR). This research, ‘Smartphones and their impact on human relationships 2022,’ was conducted on behalf of communication technology company vivo to gauge the impact of device usage on married couples. Fourth in the series of ‘Switch Off’ study, this research sheds light on smartphone usage and the changing spousal relationship dynamics in this context. 

For this study, CyberMedia interviewed 1,000 people from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Pune. The findings corroborated that smartphones indeed have a detrimental impact on the time a couple spends together. About 88% of respondents agreed that increased smartphone usage is hurting their relationship with their spouses. On average, the respondents spent 4.7 hours on a smartphone per day, this is similar across husbands and wives. Nearly 67% of the respondents said that they use their phones even while spending time with their spouses and 66% of the interviewees said that excessive smartphone usage has weakened their relationship. 

In general, too, respondents said that smartphones have become an integral part of their life; 84% of them said that these devices have ‘become a part of their body,’ which cannot be separated. Almost 58% of them said that they use smartphones while eating and 86% admitted to phones being the last thing they see before hitting bed. Also, 60% of people use smartphones instead of spending time or having conversations with their family members. 

Speaking at the launch of the study, Yogendra Sriramula, head of brand strategy, vivo India, said, “The significance of a smartphone in today’s life is undisputed however excessive usage remains an area that the users need to be cautious of. As a responsible brand, we aim to underline the importance of spending time with our loved ones, for that is the true meaning of leisure time. Vivo’s fourth edition of the ‘switch off’ report aims to raise awareness, especially among married couples to help them maintain a healthy relationship with their loved ones while reaping the benefits of the technology.”  

On the positive side, nearly 84% of the studied respondents said that they wished to spend more quality time with their spouse, and around 89% said that they would want to cut down on the time spent on smartphones to strengthen their marital bond. Moreover, 91% said that spending more leisure time with their partners will add more contentment to their lives.