How Smartphones & Social Media Fit Into Our Schedules [Infographic]

I just wrote an article yesterday about some of the trend predictions for the coming year, and one of them had to do with how we use our smartphones. Although our smartphones and our social media sites might seem like an extension of our daily lives now, apparently that is going to become even more prevalent in the the coming year. Our smartphones will become as personal as our own fingerprints, and we’ll use them to do everything from changing the channel on the television to starting the car to opening a beer.

It makes sense when you think about how we incorporate our smartphones and our social media into our schedules even now. Just stop and think for a moment…When is the first time each day that you check your smartphone? If you sleep with your iPhone, which I do most nights, it’s right there when you open your eyes in the morning. If not, you probably reach for it before you even make your morning coffee. What is the last thing you do before you go to sleep at night? You check your smartphone, right? Our schedules and our priorities were much different even just a few years ago.

According to this infographic called The Everyday Life Of Today’s Connected Consumer (by Cisco) which is based on the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, our smartphones are most definitely attached to us and present in our schedules all day long. There is almost no separation between on time and off time; it’s just always there, in the background, like a child needing attention. Imagine how you would feel if you suddenly had no Internet access for more than 24 hours or if your smartphone was stolen.

Just thinking about it is enough to increase your heartbeat, right? Yup, we are definitely addicted to our smartphones, our social media and our technology in general. We are living a lifestyle of being always on and always connected. Only time will tell if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. To me, it seems like it’s a natural progression in our evolution.