Brits urged to ‘turn off’ bad phone behaviour as 54% say ‘phone icks’ are on the rise

• Playing loud video or voice notes in public, saying ‘lol’ too much and loud ringtones or alarms are revealed as the UK’s biggest phone bad habits 
• A quarter (24%) of Brits would dump a potential partner over bad phone habits rising to over 58% amongst Gen Z
• Over half of Gen Z (56%) judge people purely on their emoji usage 
• Smooth talker and even better texter Pete Wicks has partnered with Sky Mobile to help the UK spot and stop mobile phone red flags
• Sky Mobile’s flexible contracts are designed to take the ‘ick’ out of mobile behaviours as customers can roll any unused data and change their plan whenever they like

Playing loud video or voice notes in public, saying ‘lol’ in every message and loud ringtones or alarms have topped a list of phone ‘icks’, according to new research.

The poll of 2,000 Brits commissioned by Sky Mobile found over half (54%) believe bad mobile behaviour has become more common in the last year, with nearly a quarter (23%) reporting they cringe at tech fumbles or messaging mishaps multiple times a week, which more than doubles (50%) amongst Gen Z.

A further 61% have even confessed to feeling embarrassed by their own texting habits, committing a minimum of two ‘phone icks’ a day. Despite this, 24% admit bad phone habits could result in calling time on their relationships, rising to 58% of Gen Z and 43% of Millennials.

The research suggests that some icks come with serious consequences - 20% of Brits consider a love interest constantly without data a ‘deal breaker’, with 10% describing this as ‘red flag’ behaviour.

A third of Brits (34%) flagged people checking their phones constantly during conversations as the worst mobile behaviour, with just under half of Boomers (43%) naming it their biggest mobile gripe.

Top 10 Phone Icks: 

1. Playing loud videos or voice notes in public – 33%
2. Saying “lol” in every message – 26%
3. Loud ringtones or alarms – 24%
4. Not using punctuation or having constant typos – 24%
5. Taking pictures of your food – 21%
6. Late replies – 21%
7. Overusing emojis or GIFs – 20%
8. Keyboard sounds left on – 17%
9. Having a grubby or cracked phone screen – 17%
10. Texting ‘??’ after 2 minutes of no reply – 16%

Brits should also be wary of their emoji usage as nearly a quarter (24%) admitted to judging personalities based purely on the emojis they use, jumping to 56% and 42% of Gen Z and Millennials respectively.  

When it comes to the emojis to avoid, the poo, tongue sticking out laughing and skull face topped the ick league table. The thumbs up emoji is also a cause for debate, with 66% of Gen Z considering it rude, yet only a quarter of Boomers (25%) perceiving it this way.

The study found more than half of Brits (55%) are irked by friends and partners who drag their heels on replies, revealing that late replies are the biggest red flag when dating or in a romantic relationship with someone. Using AI to write messages was also revealed as one of the biggest deal breakers in romantic relationships (25%).

Known for always being connected, for 29% of Gen Z the biggest gripe is someone taking an eternity to respond. One in 10 (10%) even consider a 15-minute response time as too long, despite the majority admitting it can take them up to two hours (81%) to get back to someone themselves.

And, 79% of young people confessed to ignoring messages on purpose as half (50%) agree unannounced phone calls are rude compared to Gen X and Boomers (14% vs 4%).

It is not just romantic relationships that could be at risk with bad phone habits as 14% of Brits agree they’d likely end friendships over them. The research warned Brits to be sure to text before you call as a fifth (20%) consider ringing someone out of the blue to be rude.

The research comes as Pete Wicks revitalises his role as Sky Mobile’s ‘relationship consultant’, helping the nation get an ick-free connection in a new tongue-in-cheek campaign.

In the video, Essex Casanova Pete Wicks - dubbed the brand’s “Dating Daddy” - coaches Mick through his romance with Flick, poking fun at modern dating habits from endless texting to overly long voice notes.

Channelling Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, Mick calls Flick his “English teacher” to his “Gym Teacher,” earning Wicks’s scolding for his phone obsession. As the self-styled “Commodore of Courting,” Wicks snatches Mick’s phone mid-date after a “camera eats first” moment.

The clip ends with Pete joining Flick, only to receive a rambling podcast-length voice note from Mick that prompted Pete’s dry sign-off: “Miss you, Sam,” a wink to his podcast with Sam Thompson.

Pete Wicks said:  "Let’s be honest, nothing gives me the ick more than someone who takes hours to reply or chucks a hundred emojis in one message. Sky Mobile’s research proves we’re all sick of the same bad habits – but the best bit is, they’re easy to fix! Keep it simple, reply on time and don’t be that person blasting videos out loud on the train. Stick to that and you’ll stay well out of the ‘phone ick zone’.” 

With an aim to solve British phone cringes, Sky Mobile’s flexible contracts are designed to take the ‘ick’ out of mobile connections.

Ben Case, Managing Director of Connectivity at Sky says:  “Our research shows that our phone habits say more about us than we realise and can even make or break a relationship. At Sky Mobile, we’re making it easier to stay effortlessly connected, whether it’s rolling over spare data or switching up your plan to suit you.” 

With Sky Mobile, customers can enjoy flexible contracts and choose how they use their data by sharing it, saving it, or using it for rewards.

For more information, please contact Hannah.priestley@taylorherring.com

Customers that switched to Sky Mobile saved over £100.

Survey conducted of 2,000 Brits by OnePoll

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