WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Many Americans find cellphones useful for alleviating boredom and some use them to avoid talking to someone actually in their presence, a survey indicates.
The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found 42 percent of those surveyed -- by telephone, of course -- say cellphones can help stave off boredom and 13 percent say they have pretended to be using their cellphone to avoid interacting with people around them.
The survey also found 29 percent say they sometimes turn off their phones for awhile to get a break
About 83 percent of U.S. adults own some type of cellphone, while 35 percent own a smartphone of some kind, the survey reveals.
The survey indicates 51 percent say they had used their phone at least once to get information they needed right away in the last 30 days.
One-quarter say they experienced a situation in the previous month in which they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone at hand and 40 percent of cellphone owners say they have found themselves in an emergency situation and having a cellphone was helpful.
The survey of 2,277 U.S. adults, conducted April 26 to May 22, has an overall margin of error of 2 percentage points and for all cellphone owners, the margin of error is 3 percentage point.
