My Mobile Day Blog

I remember the journey of my first smartphone; I was almost 20 years old in 2016 and had fought with my dad continuously for one year to get it. My first ever smartphone was a Windows Phone, and two years later, when I started making money, I got my first Android Smartphone, Motorola G Plus. Fast forward to 2022, I got my first iPhone.

Having a smartphone was a moment of joy, but now I feel I have my whole world at my fingertips. Over the past decade, smartphones have been revolutionized from calling to texting to booking a cab, watching a movie, surfing the internet, and whatnot; smartphones have come a long way, and there's much more to come. It is essential in my life; even while writing this blog, I have my smartphone next to me with the song playing on Spotify.

My daily routine with my smartphone

My mornings mostly start by snoozing my alarm at 6:30 AM if I am going to college or even earlier if I have an early morning work shift. My phone is the first thing I touch when I wake up and scroll through some sound 30+ notifications. Once that is done, I get ready to go to my college or work with my smartphone always in my hands. As my class ends or during the course, I check notifications, messages, and alerts or scroll through Instagram.

Listening to music or watching Netflix has become essential to my commute. I always play music on Spotify or play comedy shows on YouTube while cooking or studying.

My daily usage of my smartphone is limited to 4-6 applications daily, which barely accounts for 10% of the total number of apps installed on my phone. On average, I spend 3-4 hours on my smartphone (which is way too much, and I am trying hard to decrease it). My Smartphone usage involves many 'I want to know micro-moments as I am a curious person and rely a lot on Google to know the meaning of words or randomly search for anything that comes to my mind while interacting with people.

So basically, my day starts by scrolling Instagram and watching Netflix while going to bed. Different micro-moments encourage me to use my phone more frequently as the day goes on and things come up.

Most used Mobile Applications

• Instagram – This application takes away most of my screen time. I am guilty of using Instagram for almost 1.5 hours a day. I mainly use the application for endless scrolling. Although Instagram reels are top-rated, I am not so fond of them. I check a few Instagram stories and spend most of my time studying the app's Discover section.
• Netflix and YouTube – My average weekly commute is almost 1.25 hours per day, and I prefer to watch Netflix during my commute time. As I get no network in the subway, I always ensure I have at least 2 episodes of the current show I am watching. My current addiction on Netflix is Suits, and sometimes I watch comedy shows on YouTube. I follow Indian channels such as Ok Tested, Buzzfeed India, TMKOC and more. Even while working on my assignments, I always ensure one video is running in the background to keep me occupied. In a way, these videos help me keep my focus!?
• WhatsApp – These days, a lot of communication is done via WhatsApp. And I also rely on WhatsApp for most of my contacts, from college updates to talking to my family. As an International Student in Canada, I use WhatsApp calls (both voice and video) to call my parents and friends back home.

Other significant applications that I use are Facebook – a social media application; Spotify – a music entertainment application; Scotiabank – my banking application; Google – the search engine; and Inshorts – a news application (based in India)

?Micro-moments

You would have understood that I use my smartphone often by this time. All the applications I have downloaded add more value to the different micro-moments that prompted the use of it. Google has defined their micro-moments as moments when people reflexively turn to their smart devices to act, learn, do or discover anything.

When I think of it, these micro-moments are the significant reasons I reach out to my smartphone throughout the day. The first micro-moment that prompts me to pick up my smartphone is 'I want to connect and 'I want to text'. This makes me head to Instagram and WhatsApp to connect with my family and friends.

The next micro-moment that prompts me to use my smartphone is 'I want to know, 'I want to read'. This is where I open Google, Safari, or sometimes Medium and type in specific queries like "How to cook palak paneer?" "What are home remedies for hair fall". These long-tail keywords give me beautiful results and give me the answers seamlessly and effortlessly.?

During my commutes, I often face 'I want to watch and 'I want to listen' moments where I jump to Netflix, YouTube, or Spotify. Occasionally, I get prompted by the 'I want to buy' moment where I reach to Amazon, Facebook Marketplace or other applications like H&M, Adidas or Instagram, where I come upon small start-ups on my feed with excellent and sustainable products.??

Mobile "Friction"

I experience mobile 'friction' on several occasions; one prominent friction face is during my 'I want to listen, 'I want to get entertained' moments with Spotify. For example, the accessible version of Spotify doesn't allow us to choose the songs to play nor lets me fast forward any song. As a result, I had to get a paid version of Spotify or hop onto other applications to play the songs without hassle.

I often order food from UberEats when I get late at work. But I feel there are some minor bugs in the application. Sometimes the order is not completed saying there's a server error. Also, while UberEats never picks up the default payment option, I must always ensure that I have selected the correct card for payment.

I also feel that advertising clutter can be annoying; every time I sign up for a brand newsletter, I receive annoying advertisements and promotional emails that take up much of my inbox space. I have tried unsubscribing from them, but no luck. I hope companies focus more on treating customers better and not annoying them with spam promotional emails.

During my 'I want to buy moments, sometimes I reach to Facebook Marketplace if I don't want to invest much into anything. I have kept filters for the marketplace, yet I see sponsored ads from other categories. Ads of the same type are not a problem, but other ads made me leave the application without completing my transaction.

Insights for Marketer

This investigation of digging my smartphone usage gave me valuable insights and very interesting, revealing patterns and ideas that I had not before explored.

The insights gained from my average 3 hours of smartphone usage is that I use the smartphone mostly when I am distracted. At some point, I use my smartphone between my classes for 5 minutes or sometimes for 3 minutes when I am with my friends. Marketers need to capture this time and gain users' attention seamlessly.

One more essential point I figured is that I often change devices. I have seen the same things on laptops, tablets, TV or Smartphone. Like I watch YouTube on my mobile, laptop and sometimes on my smart TV. So, as we move towards a multiscreen transition, marketers need to communicate with their target customers and be visible at the right moment.

It is worth noting that I have downloaded a few applications because I knew I needed them in my day-to-day life. But a set of applications came to my attention when I was downloading these applications, for example, Pinterest and Spotify. Thus, it has become essential for applications and websites to stand out to catch users' attention.

This was my experience with my mobile phone. Tell me about your experiences and how you feel about your mobile day.

Thank you for reading!