I can’t live, if living is without you

No, this Tuesday’s blog will not be a paean to the late performer Harry Nilsson, but rather a not so surprising survey from the Bank of America regarding mobile phone usage.

Or more to the point, how long could you last without your mobile phone before you began taking hostages?

A week? A day? An hour? 

Now, I’ve used this space on more than one occasion to document what I consider out of control use of mobile phones – i.e. while on the treadmill, in a lavatory stall, or the time I was nearly turned into a grease spot by an oversized SUV whose owner was too busy texting to notice me at a crosswalk. Since 38 percent of those in the BOA poll revealed that despite the escalation in law enforcement crackdowns on such behavior, they regularly check their phone while behind the wheel, I’m a bit surprised that hasn’t happened to me more than once.

According to BOA, nearly half of those polled by the banking conglomerate (47 percent) admitted they would not last a day without their mobile phones. Personally I think that figure is a bit conservative.

Some 35 percent admitted to checking their phones constantly and nearly 25 percent said they would feel naked without it after 24 hours. Considering some of the people I know who are mobile-phone addicted, that’s a rather uncomfortable image.

Among the 18-24-year-old demographic, a majority reported that a phone is more important than a television.

As the father of a 23-year old and a 19-year old, I can vouch for that number particularly when I view my monthly data charges from our mobile carrier.

But here’s the kicker, 45 percent said they would be willing to give up alcohol if it meant not having a mobile phone. Boy that’s a tough one – especially if someone was waving a bottle of Opus One in front of me.

Now that’s what I would call an executive decision.