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Would you pay up to $15K to keep your smartphone? One in 10 Americans would

Which pleasures would you give up to be able to keep your phones? Your dog? Your significant other? A new survey reveals just how much we would go without in order to keep our smartphones.
Written by Eileen Brown, Contributor

Although we seem to be glued to our phones, do we love them so much that we would sacrifice things like wine or coffee in order to keep our mobile devices?

Miami Beach-based online SMS marketing platform SimpleTexting asked 1,090 Americans in early July 2020 what sacrifices they would make for their phones.

It wanted to discover which of life's indulgences, relationships, and overall joys would the average person give up in order to keep their smartphone.

The survey showed that over seven in 10 (71.7%) of respondents would rather give up alcohol than give up their cell phones. Almost eight out of 10 females (79.4%) compared to just over two in three (67.3%) males would prefer to give up alcohol instead of their phones.

Almost two out of three (59%) of respondents would rather give up all social media for a month than their phone for a month, and 64% would rather sacrifice all coffee for a month than sacrifice their smartphones for a month.

However, Americans are not as quick to pass up on vacations, dogs, and significant others. Only around 40% of respondents would give up each of these over their cell phones.

When asked if respondents would sacrifice all forms of entertainment (TV, music, and podcasts) for a month to keep their smartphones, over two in five (41%) said yes.

When asked what they would sacrifice permanently to keep their phones, almost three in five (57%) would rather permanently stop shopping at their beloved retailers, Amazon and Target, than permanently give up their smartphones.

Would you pay $10-15k to keep your smartphone one in ten Americans would zdnet
Simple Texting

One in four (26%) of respondents were willing to pay a huge premium to keep their phones. The average AT&T Unlimited cell phone plan for one line is $75 per month or $900 per year

Yet, when asked how much they would be willing to pay to keep their smartphone for one year, 26% would pay $1,000 to $5,000, 15% would pay $5,000 to $10,000, and 12% would pay $10,00 to $15,000.

Whatever happens across the rest of 2020 -- and there has been a lot happening this year already -- Americans are tied to their smartphones.

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