The Mobile Phone Owner Hall of Shame has more contenders than you might think. Nearly half (49%) of American mobile phone owners have broken or lost their mobile phone – on average, they’ve broken or lost two! Let’s take a moment of silence for those 230,685,1721 mobile phones that met an untimely end…
Moving on, we’ve identified how to spot a “Worst Mobile Phone Owner” in the wild – or in the mirror. Keep an eye out for these 10 most embarrassing ways to break or lose your mobile phone:
1 245,201,076 US adults x 0.96 = 235,393,033 mobile phone owners x 0.49 have ever broken or lost mobile phone =
115,342,586 x 2 phones broken or lost on average = 230,685,172 broken or lost mobile phones
Those embarrassing moments aren’t just hypotheticals – we asked America the most embarrassing ways they or someone they know has ever broken or lost a mobile phone, and the results make us want to run out and insure our own phones:
Rest easy, though – there’s no rule that says you have to actually own up to breaking or losing your mobile phone. 1 in 3 (34%) mobile phone owners would replace their phone before they had to tell anyone how they broke or lost it. More than a quarter (27%) would cry over their broken or lost phone, and another 14% would lie about how they broke it.
How to be the Nation’s Best Mobile Phone Owner
Mobile phones can be constant companions – until they’re lost or broken, that is. Here are four tips to earn the title of “Best Mobile Phone Owner”:
- Learn from past mistakes. Nearly half (49%) of American mobile phone owners have broken or lost their mobile phone – on average, they’ve broken or lost two mobile phones! Don’t let your mobile phone graveyard grow any bigger without a replacement plan in place.
- Reconsider the mobile phone clip. Okay, maybe there’s a more modern way to keep your mobile phones safe, but strapping it to your person is one way to avoid hazards brought on by butterfingers and scatterbrains. 54% of mobile phone owners drop their phone at least once a week, and 45% misplace their phone at least once a week. Those who drop their phones let them slip an average of 3 times a week, and scatterbrained mobile phone owners misplace theirs an average of 3 times a week.
- Take precautions when in mobile phone “danger zones.” You don’t have to go far to find a phone “danger zone” – or anywhere at all, in fact. The most common place Americans have ever broken or lost their phone is at home (55%), followed by a bathroom (27%).
- Purchase mobile phone insurance with some of your monthly “fun” money. Mobile phone owners are spending a monthly average of $113 on eating out, $95 on cable and/or streaming services, $57 on new clothing, and $30 on coffee – that’s $295. Isn’t protecting your mobile phone from harm worth more to you than a few cups of coffee?
Still not convinced you should work towards a gold star in mobile phone ownership?
Forget aiming as high as “Best Mobile Phone Owner” – many of us simply aim to maintain the title of “Mobile Phone Owner.” Rather than break or lose their mobile phone, 1 in 3 (34%) say they would prefer to lose other important items including their bed, keys, and even friends. In fact, over one-quarter (27%) admitted they would even cry if they lost their phone. To put this into perspective, if mobile phone owners actually lost what they said they would be willing to instead of their mobile phone, many would be in the running for some quite unique awards:
| % Would Rather Lose Something Other than their Mobile Phone | Mobile Phone Owner Awards | Number of Mobile
Phone Owners in the Running for Award[1] |
| 12% would rather lose their “mojo” than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to Use a Bad Pickup Line” | 28,247,164 |
| 9% would rather lose their vacation days than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to Fill their Workspace with Sand” | 21,185,373 |
| 7% would rather lose their keys than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to Wish they
Gave Their Sketchy Neighbor a Spare Key” |
16,477,512 |
| 6% would rather lose their bed than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to be Subsisting on More Coffee Than Sleep” | 14,123,582 |
| 5% would rather lose their friends than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to Start Referring to their Mobile Phone as ‘My
Precious’” |
11,619,651 |
| 4% would rather lose their hair than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to be Mr. Clean for Halloween” | 9,415,721 |
| 3% would rather lose their wallet than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to Always be in the Restroom when the
Dinner Bill Comes” |
7,061,790 |
| 3% would rather lose their wedding ring than their mobile phone | “Most Likely to be Sleeping on the Couch when Their
Spouse Finds out” |
7,061,790 |
Key Findings – Statistically Significant Subgroups
Below we’ve included statistically significant comparisons that can be made across subgroups.
GENERATION
- Millennials are the generation most likely to have ever broken or lost their mobile phone – 2 in 3 (67%) have done so at least once, compared to 58% of Gen Xers and just a quarter (27%) of Boomers.
- Boomers are more likely to learn from past experiences with broken or lost phones – on average, Boomers have broken or lost 1.5 mobile phones, compared to Millennials who have lost 2.6.
- Millennials drop their phones twice as many times per week – an average of 4 – than Gen Xers (2) or Boomers (2).
- Nearly half (46%) of millennials would cry over a broken or lost mobile phone, and just as many would replace it before they ever had to own up to how they broke or lost their mobile phone (45%). 1 in 4 (26%) millennials would even lie about how they broke or lost it!
PARENTS
- Parents are more likely to have broken or lost their mobile phone (67%) than nonparents (38%).
- Parents are more likely to drop (69%) or misplace (55%) their mobile phone than nonparents (47%, 40%).
- Parents are more likely to lie about how they broke or lost their phone (18%) than nonparents (13%).
Verizon EPP Survey Questions
- Have you ever, even once, broken or lost your mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=1,026 |
| Yes, more than once | 20% |
| Yes, once | 28% |
| No, never | 49% |
| I do not currently own a mobile phone | 4% |
| NET: Yes | 47% |
| NET: Owns a mobile phone | 96% |
- In your lifetime, how many mobile phones have you ever broken or lost?
| Total | |
| Base | N=484 |
| 1 | 43% |
| 2 | 28% |
| 3 | 16% |
| More than 3 | 13% |
| Average | 2 |
- In an average week, approximately how many times, if ever, do you do each of the following?
- Drop your mobile phone
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 46% |
| 1 | 24% |
| 2 | 13% |
| 3-5 | 12% |
| 6-10 | 3% |
| More than 10 | 2% |
| NET: At least once per week | 54% |
| Average | 1.6 |
Misplace your mobile phone
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 55% |
| 1 | 19% |
| 2 | 11% |
| 3-5 | 9% |
| 6-10 | 3% |
| More than 10 | 2% |
| NET: At least once per week | 45% |
| Average | 1.5 |
- What is the most embarrassing way you or someone you know has ever broken a mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Dropped phone | 51% |
| Threw phone | 3% |
| Sat on phone | 3% |
| Car drove over phone | 2% |
| Jumped/went into pool/lake/ocean with phone | 2% |
| Washed in washing machine | 1% |
| Left on roof of car and drove away | 1% |
| Flushed down toilet | 1% |
| Other | 9% |
| None of these | 19% |
- Which of the following do you think are the most embarrassing ways to break or lose a mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Dropping your mobile phone in water | 43% |
| Sending your mobile phone through the wash | 42% |
| Throwing your mobile phone | 22% |
| Dropping your mobile phone out of a window | 20% |
| Sitting on your mobile phone | 20% |
| Spilling something on your mobile phone | 20% |
| Finding your pet chewing on your mobile phone | 20% |
| Tripping and landing on your mobile phone | 20% |
| Stepping on your mobile phone | 18% |
| Forgetting your mobile phone somewhere | 18% |
| Leaving your mobile phone behind while traveling | 18% |
| Letting kids play with your mobile phone | 11% |
| Dropping your mobile phone while working out | 8% |
| Other | * |
| None of these | 9% |
- If you broke or lost your mobile phone, how likely or unlikely would you be to do each of the following?
Summary Table: Very likely/somewhat likely
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Replace it before I had to tell anyone how I broke or lost it | 34% |
| Cry over my broken or lost mobile phone | 27% |
| Lie about how I broke or lost it | 14% |
- Lie about how I broke or lost it
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Very likely | 3% |
| Somewhat likely | 11% |
| Not very likely | 28% |
| Not at all likely | 58% |
| NET: Likely | 14% |
| NET: Unlikely | 86% |
Replace it before I had to tell anyone how I broke or lost it
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Very likely | 11% |
| Somewhat likely | 24% |
| Not very likely | 32% |
| Not at all likely | 33% |
| NET: Likely | 34% |
| NET: Unlikely | 66% |
- Cry over my broken or lost mobile phone
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Very likely | 9% |
| Somewhat likely | 18% |
| Not very likely | 23% |
| Not at all likely | 50% |
| NET: Likely | 27% |
| NET: Unlikely | 73% |
- Which of the following, if any, would you rather lose instead of your mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| My “mojo” | 12% |
| My vacation days | 9% |
| My keys | 7% |
| My bed | 6% |
| My friends | 5% |
| My hair | 4% |
| My wallet | 3% |
| My wedding ring | 3% |
| None of these | 66% |
- Which of the following places, if any, have you ever broken or lost your mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=484 |
| At home | 55% |
| A bathroom | 27% |
| A beach or pool | 13% |
| Public transportation | 12% |
| A bar or restaurant | 12% |
| A gym | 6% |
| A boat | 5% |
| Other | 14% |
| None of these | 10% |
- If you broke or lost your mobile phone, how likely or unlikely would you be to do each of the following?
Summary Table: Average amount spent per month
| Total | |
| Base | N=1,026 |
| Eating out | $113 |
| Cable and/or streaming services | $95 |
| New clothing | $57 |
| Coffee | $30 |
- Coffee
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 34% |
| $1-10 | 25% |
| $11-20 | 20% |
| $21-30 | 9% |
| $31-50 | 8% |
| $51+ | 4% |
| NET: Any | 66% |
| Average | $30 |
Eating out
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 5% |
| $1-25 | 16% |
| $26-50 | 24% |
| $51-75 | 7% |
| $76-100 | 19% |
| $101+ | 29% |
| NET: Any | 95% |
| Average | $113 |
- New clothing
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 22% |
| $1-25 | 27% |
| $26-50 | 28% |
| $51-75 | 4% |
| $76-100 | 12% |
| $101+ | 8% |
| NET: Any | 78% |
| Average | $57 |
- Cable and/or streaming services
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| Zero | 15% |
| $1-25 | 9% |
| $26-50 | 12% |
| $51-75 | 9% |
| $76-100 | 16% |
| $101+ | 38% |
| NET: Any | 85% |
| Average | $95 |
- Which of the following, if any, would you rather misplace for a week instead of your mobile phone?
| Total | |
| Base | N=993 |
| My Netflix account | 43% |
| My glasses/contacts | 12% |
| My laptop | 10% |
| My keys | 4% |
| My wallet | 3% |
| None of these | 39% |
[1] 235,393,033 mobile phone owners x % who would rather lose item
