Bathrooms don’t stop smartphone users from doing their business

If you've ever taken your cell phone into the bathroom stall with you, you're not alone: a U.S. study has found that three-quarters of people have used their cell phones in the bathroom.

A recent study from 11mark found that 30 per cent of men and 20 per cent of women say that they don't go to the bathroom without their mobile phone.

Where this study gets interesting is the divide between brand loyalties. It seems that certain smartphone users are more likely than others to engage in this less-than-hygienic behaviour.

Android users: you're the ones most often to be guilty of taking your phone to the bathroom. More than 85 per cent of Android users brought their device with them, with BlackBerry users a close second at 84 per cent and iPhone users rounding out the top three at 77 per cent. I know some people treat Apple products as near-holy; perhaps the other 23 per cent would consider it desecrating a religious relic if they did so.

Those iPhone users who bring their phones with them, however, are more likely than Android or Blackberry users to use a social networking app (67 per cent) or use social networking (53 per cent).

But I wag my finger at you, BlackBerry users. As the most likely group to answer a phone call (75 per cent) or initiate a call (48 per cent), I think we need to have a talk about appropriate background noises for a phone call. Etiquette expert Peggy Post at Good Housekeeping backs me up on this one. If you're making phone calls in a public restroom, you're invading the privacy of others, and it would be far more polite to take it outside.

While this is a U.S. study, I can only imagine the Canadian stats are likely to be similar. Right Click readers, would you — or do you — ever use your phone in the bathroom?

(Infographic from 11mark)