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Chinese have given up pre-sleep time to use mobiles, watches now obsolete, survey finds

A survey of consumers in China has found that smart phone use is now so prevalent that many Chinese have given up pre-sleep alone time to spend more time using their devices to access social networks such as WeChat and Weibo.

The study of 981 Chinese smart phone users across China, by media agency GroupM, found that 66 per cent of respondents have used their phones to end a relationship, while 65 per cent admitted to using their phones to beautify their personal photos.

Ninety-one per cent of respondents prefer to use their phones to check the time, 73 per cent have scanned a QR code and over 50 per cent use their phones to interact with TV programs.

Smart phones are making traditional devices like watches obsolete, the survey concluded.

Tony Chen, president of GroupM Interaction said: “The influence of smart phones now extends from start to finish of every day. 80% of survey respondents sleep with their phones at arm’s reach, 73% wake up to their phone alarms, and 95% are busy on their phones before bed, creating what GroupM terms the 25th hour in the day.”

The agency has also released a video to outline China’s appetite for mobile devices.

In 2012, the phone overtook the desktop PC as the number one internet access device in China. In February this year, China eclipsed the US as the world’s largest smartphone market by daily activations.

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