What do men do with their cell phones all day?

“From morning until night, anytime, everywhere”—it’s the ubiquitous cell phone that Weekly Playboy (Aug 10) is talking about. An alien visiting our planet would surely take the device for part of the human body, so firmly attached to it does it seem. In Japan, some 36 million of them were sold in 2008 alone.

The few remaining abstainers carp in vain—the cell phone is here to stay.

But what do people do with that inseparable appendage of theirs all day long? Weekly Playboy polled 600 men across the country to find out.

The first question it poses is where. “Everywhere” turns out to be no exaggeration: 76.8% of respondents use it at home, 68.1% on public transportation, 49.6% at work, 46.7% while out socializing, 35.1% while walking. A significant portion of waking life—some day no doubt some researcher will determine the percentage—is spent on the phone.

Doing what, besides talking? Email above all—98% of cell phone users use it for that, the poll shows. Forty-six percent browse websites, 45.7% send or receive photo-mail, 13.8% watch motion pictures of some kind, 11% play games.

Email to and from loved ones has changed the nature of commuting, lifting the commuter in spirit far above the jam-packed cars that confine and oppress the body.

“Especially on Monday mornings,” says a 28-year-old construction company employee about his train-time exchanges with his girlfriend. “I tell her, ‘Well, it’s another week, let’s make it pay, eh? Oh, and by the way, where should we go next Saturday?’ Naturally, I throw in a lot of heart signs…”

Somewhat bashfully, we’re told, a 28-year-old commuter, who works in a karaoke bar, shows a Weekly Playboy reporter a message he’s composing to the sharer of his bed: “Thank you for last night! We were up pretty late, weren’t we? I’m still throbbing down there! You’re working today, right? Well, hang in there! (Heart sign).”

Cell phone-transfixed commuters not emailing are more likely than not to be web surfing, and here we’re in for a surprise, because what’s claiming the most attention is daily news sites (which 73.2% of users habitually access), or weather sites (65%)—far above social networking sites (20.7%), erotic sites (5.9%), manga sites (a mere 4.7%) and prose fiction sites (3.6%).

“I don’t subscribe to a newspaper, so I check the news sites on my mobile,” says a 31-year-old ad agency employee. “It gives me something to talk about with my bosses and subordinates.”

“I’m in sales, which means I travel around a lot, so I’m usually busy checking train connections on my mobile,” says a 38-year-old in IT.

“Mixi—I can’t tear myself away from it,” says a 35-year-old consultant, naming Japan’s most popular social networking site. A lot of times I get invited to go out drinking via mixi, so to and from work and on my lunch break I’m always logged in.”

Though ranking surprisingly low on Weekly Playboy’s scale (15th place), erotic sites do have their following among commuters and lunch-time surfers. “The idea of getting caught peeping,” says a 27-year-old photographer, “only makes it more exciting.”

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Latest 15 of 28 Total Comments Show All

pimon at 10:13 PM JST - 2nd August

I haven't heard anyone oohing and aahing over my iPhone

Are iPhones at all popular here in Japan? Honestly, I haven't seen a single one, but I am way out of the city.
pawatan at 11:11 PM JST - 2nd August

Are iPhones at all popular here in Japan? Honestly, I haven't seen a single one, but I am way out of the city.

No, not really, due to them having less features and a more onerous contract than a normal Japanese phone. I see them occasionally, but that's all.
illsayit at 09:14 AM JST - 3rd August

Well my man only knows how to talk on the phone. Any buttons he is pushing, theyd be on me, thank you!
nisegaijin at 09:43 AM JST - 3rd August

Pathetic and really indicates the extent to how the population has been dumbed down.. Still, it keeps the masses quiet and under control.

What the hell is your problem? So people switched from news paper to cell phones.. big deal.
yokomoc at 02:10 PM JST - 3rd August

iPhones are the top-selling phones in Japan, I believe.
biglittleman at 03:37 PM JST - 3rd August

The iphone has more featurs than the average Japanese phone. Don'tf orget apps.
pimon at 10:35 PM JST - 3rd August

iPhones are the top-selling phones in Japan, I believe.

Hard to say, since Apple and SoftBank refuse to disclose sales numbers. This article in Wireless Japan Watch (http://wirelesswatch.jp/2009/06/09/iphone-in-japan-past-present-and-future/) claims to shed some light on sales, but it requires a paid subscription. I read in the WSJ that iPhone sales had tanked last fall, but not sure now. Honestly, I have never seen a single one here.

Don't forget apps.

Indeed. The Twitter feeds and "pull finger for fart" best-selling apps. Not sure what I would do without a smart phone... hold on, I don't have one.
pawatan at 10:49 PM JST - 3rd August

iPhones are the top-selling phones in Japan, I believe.

You believe incorrectly. Sales were so underwhelming after introduction that Softbank was giving them away free (with contract). There was much in the news about this last year.

The iphone has more features than the average Japanese phone. Don't forget apps.

Don't forget no 1-seg, unless you count a clunky add-on.
yokomoc at 11:31 AM JST - 4th August

Pawatan, you should pay more attention to this year's news:

http://mashable.com/2009/07/04/iphone-japan/
yokomoc at 12:07 PM JST - 4th August

I see the survey's been updated for July. By my reckoning, the 32GB 3GS iPhone's the no1 selling smartphone, and no4 cellphone overall. 8GB 3G is no.2 smartphone and no.8 overall, unless the Walkman Phone Premier3 counts as a smartphone?

http://bcnranking.jp/category/subcategory_0010.html

While this hardly counts as conclusive, I bought an iPhone at the weekend in a large electronics store and the Softbank stand was easily the busiest. There was also an article this month showing Softbank's sales had risen while AU and Docomo's had fallen off considerably.

And remember it's the best selling but not the best sold. It'll take a few months but you'll be seeing a lot more iPhones on the train by Xmas.
XXXXX at 01:08 AM JST - 6th August

who cares, really
Mittsu at 03:16 PM JST - 6th August

Though ranking surprisingly low on Weekly Playboy’s scale (15th place), erotic sites do have their following among commuters and lunch-time surfers. “The idea of getting caught peeping,” says a 27-year-old photographer, “only makes it more exciting.”

Kind of sums up J view of erotiscism.
Mittsu at 03:18 PM JST - 6th August

It's then walking while browsing/texting that gets me. Just not necessary.
helloklitty at 07:38 AM JST - 7th August

Status symbol? More like nerd symbol. I never want to be seen using my phone.
Cliffy at 09:18 PM JST - 14th August

One thing I find it very interesting is that most people I know have an iPhone are not in the technical field (I work in IT).

Anyway, I only use my phone to call in case of emergency, work related issue and talk to my wife and kids. The rest is to play Sudoku while I am on the train and listen to music. Oh! Also used as alarm clock. The rest, if the number is not recognized, I will ignore the call. After all, if it is emergency, they will either leave message or call back. If it is not, I do not really care.