Do You Use Mobile Phone as a Normal Human Being?

RMN Digital | May 30, 2013 | Asia Pacific, Consumer, Europe, Lifestyle, Masses, Mobiles, Opinion, Regions, Surveys | No Comments

A Microsoft Safer Online Facebook poll revealed that many smartphone users don’t mind their mobile manners — but men and women both find people who constantly check their mobile phones to be the most annoying.

Other mobile annoyances included accidentally pocket-dialing someone and simply losing their phones, opening the door to potential digital damage.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents also agreed that they believe men and women equally practice mobile phone safety, but this may not be the reality.

The frustrations don’t stop there. The following are the agreed-upon top five pet peeves:

Checking phones constantly
Talking loudly
Using or not silencing phones when appropriate
Using phones during face-to-face conversation
Delaying traffic by using phones

[ Also Read: How to Use Email like a Normal Human Being ]

“Although we’re all bothered by certain mobile phone behaviors, the more important point is knowing how to help protect one’s device and information from scammers, rogue software and the oversharing of digital details,” said Jacqueline Beauchere, chief online safety officer, Microsoft Corp. “We know from earlier research that men and women practice mobile safety very differently.”

[ Also Read: Airtel – India’s Leading Mobile ‘Suffering’ Provider ]

According to the Microsoft Computing Safety Index (MCSI), men do a slightly better job using technical tools:

Thirty-five percent use a PIN or password to lock their mobile device compared with 33 percent of women.
Thirty-five percent use secured wireless networks versus 32 percent of women.
Thirty-two percent keep their mobile devices up to date contrasted with 24 percent of women.

Yet, men seem to experience more mobile pitfalls, receiving more emails from strangers asking for personal information (70 percent versus 65 percent), more rogue antivirus popups (66 percent versus 58 percent), and more online impersonation experiences (31 percent versus 26 percent).

[ Also Read: How Modern Moms Use Social Media ]

Women tend to be more protective of their online reputations, taking additional steps to limit personal information online (40 percent versus 37 percent) and what strangers can see on social networking sites (40 percent versus 32 percent), as well as being more selective about what they text (34 percent versus 31 percent).

Microsoft offers the following tips to help you stay safe when using your mobile devices — in turn, ensuring you don’t annoy your friends:

Silence your mobile phone. Know when to put the phone away, and be present.
Help protect your privacy online. Don’t overshare. Think before posting your whereabouts, and save vacation highlights and photos for your return.
Use location-based services safely. Think carefully about turning on geotagging. Share your location only with people you trust. Pay attention to where and when you check in, and get permission before you check in your friends.
Conduct financial transactions on a secure network. Don’t use “borrowed” or public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Lock your mobile phone. Keep your info secret with a unique, four-digit PIN.

The MCSI surveyed more than 10,000 PC, smartphone and tablet users in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S. about their personal approach to online safety. The survey findings were released today, May 30.

Photo courtesy: Microsoft