Are Smartphones Taking Over Our Lives? [STUDY]

by Erica Swallow

New research portrays the UK as a smartphone-addicted country. Mobile data services have increased 40-fold in a three-year period in the country, and more than a quarter of adults and nearly half of teenagers own a smartphone.

The 341-page report, released by UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom, is sprinkled with nuggets of information about mobile data consumption among smartphone users, as well as larger telecommunications trends in Internet, radio and TV usage.

Here are some of the takeaways regarding smartphone usage:

• 37% of adults and 60% of teens admit they are highly addicted to their smartphones.
• 81% of smartphone users make calls every day compared with 53% of regular users.
• 23% of teenagers claim to watch less TV and 15% admit they read fewer books as a result of their smartphone use.
• 51% of adults and 65% of teens say they have used their smartphone while socializing with others.
• 23% of adults and 34% of teens have used their smartphones during mealtimes.
• 22% of adult and 47% of teens admitted using or answering their smartphone while in the bathroom.
• 58% of adult males owned a smartphone compared with 42% of females.
• Among teenagers, 52% of females use smartphones compared with 48% of males.
• The majority of adults (32%) identified Apple’s iPhone as their favorite device, while the majority of teens (37%) prefer the BlackBerry.
• With increasing telecommunications options in an ever-connected world, addiction to mobile and Internet use is not uncommon. In South Korea, there are even clinics for treating Internet addicts.
• How would you define smartphone addiction? Does taking a few calls from the toilet and texting during dinner make you an addict? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Firm stops pursuing net pirates

BBC

MediaCAT, a firm which has sent thousands of letters to alleged illegal file-sharers in the UK, has ceased trading, according to its law firm.

It follows the resignation of Andrew Crossley, who heads the law firm that pursued alleged file-sharers on its behalf.
Mr Crossley resigned during a court hearing, brought against 27 alleged illegal file-sharers.
He confirmed that MediaCAT had "ceased trading".
It comes days before a judgement is due on the case in a hearing at London's patent court.
During the case, Judge Birss criticised the methods used by Mr Crossley and the law firm he heads - ACS: Law.
MediaCAT had signed a number of contracts with copyright owners, allowing it to pursue alleged illegal file-sharers on their behalf.
Together with ACS: Law, it sent letters to people identified as downloading content without paying for it, asking them to pay a one-off fine or face being taken to court.
Consumer watchdog Which? highlighted a number of cases where people claimed they had been wrongfully accused.
The 27 people who chose to take their cases to court have found themselves caught up in a series of high-profile and dramatic court hearings.
During the court case it emerged that ACS: Law received 65% of any recouped revenue, while the copyright owners received a 30% share.
Almost as soon as the cases were brought, MediaCAT decided it wanted to drop them. But Judge Birss said granting permission to discontinue the cases was not a simple matter, due largely to the fact that the actual copyright holders were not in court.
This meant that, in theory, these copyright holders could continue to pursue cases against the 26 defendants.
"Why should they be vexed a second time?" he asked.
Judge Birss also questioned why MediaCAT wanted to drop the cases.
"I want to tell you that I am not happy. I am getting the impression with every twist and turn since I started looking at these cases that there is a desire to avoid any judicial scrutiny," he said at the time.
During the second hearing, a statement was read from Mr Crossley, saying he no longer wanted to deal with the cases because it was causing him too much "hassle".
Judge Birss will deliver his ruling on Tuesday. ACS: Law could be liable for legal costs, thinks Deborah Prince, head of legal affairs at Which?
"Whilst MediaCAT is the plaintiff, there were rumblings in the court to suggest that ACS: Law was so closely involved in receiving money, that the judge may be made to make a cost order against ACS: Law," she said.
The solicitor of some of the defendants has warned they may sue Mr Crossley for harassment.

Hague: UK is under cyber-attack

BBC

Attempts by cyber-criminals and hostile intelligence agencies to attack the British government have been outlined by the foreign secretary.

William Hague told a conference in Munich how government computers had been infected by a virus last year.

He also detailed an attempt to steal data from a UK defence contractor.

Mr Hague claimed cyberspace was providing "rich pickings" for criminals and urged governments to move faster to counter the threat.

In his speech, Mr Hague went into detail about some of the recent attacks to which systems in the UK have been exposed.

Some computers belonging to the British government had been infected with the "Zeus" computer virus, he said, after users had opened an e-mail purporting to come from the White House and followed a link.

Mr Hague said: "Our experts were able to clear up this infection but more sophisticated attacks such as these are becoming more common."

Defence contractors in the UK were also being targeted, the foreign secretary said, describing an attempt by someone masquerading as an employee of another defence firm to send a malicious file designed to steal information.

'Hostile state agency'Mr Hague also said that last month three of his staff had been sent an e-mail apparently from another colleague in the Foreign Office. 

In fact the e-mail was "from a hostile state intelligence agency" and contained "code embedded in the attached document that would have attacked their machine."

The foreign secretary said the e-mail had been prevented from reaching its intended targets.

"These are the kind of threats we are now facing every day," he said.

Mr Hague said these kinds of cyber-threats called for a "global response", with like-minded countries agreeing standards of behaviour on the internet.

He added that the UK was determined to be at the forefront of attempts to safeguard liberties on the net, but warned that many countries were "actively working against us in a hostile manner."