Men more likely to chat, women text: report
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-13 08:42

British men are almost twice as likely to use their mobile phones for talking compared with women, who prefer to text, according to research published Wednesday.

A report from consumer information group Mintel found 39 percent of women and only 25 percent of men were categorized as "Social texters" — people who text message to keep in touch.

In contrast, 30 percent of men but only 17 percent of women were judged to belong to the "Personal Touch" type — people who prefer to communicate by talking.

"That women are more likely to be texters could suggest that women now see mobile phones as extremely social tools," said Ellen Shiels, senior market analyst at Mintel.

"They can stay in touch with each other and make arrangements to meet without getting drawn into a long conversation."

The study of 1,996 adults aged 18 and above found 45 percent of owners were "Emergency Users," people classed as those who used their phones sparingly.

Expenditure on phones hit 1.02 billion pounds (US$1.8 billion) last year. Around 80 percent of Britons own a mobile.

Shiels said much of the growth potential was in the youth market, which is keen to trade up to more expensive phones.

Among 13-14 year-olds, 90 percent have mobiles and even 17 percent of 7-8 year-olds have them.

But one hurdle to the upward ownership trend could be health fears.

"It would seem parents have a choice between peace of mind when their children are out alone, for example, walking home from school, set against the potential harm to health," said Shiels.

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