The smartphone becomes a health tracker
According to a survey by management consultants Deloitte, almost two thirds - 63% - of smartphone owners in Germany use their cell phone or a watch linked to it to monitor vital or health data. According to the survey, step counting is the most popular. According to the authors of the published study, 46 percent use this function.
In second and third place are the daily distance traveled and pulse measurement. Only 37 percent said that they did not monitor any vital and health data via smartphone or watch. At the end of August, Deloitte surveyed 2000 people between 16 and 75 in a representative sample of the population, 93% of whom owned a smartphone.
The study was not specifically about health apps. The authors wanted to find out which of the many cell phone functions are actually used. According to the study, many customers use their smartphone and/or smartwatch in everyday life as a kind of "digital Swiss army knife" for a whole range of applications, including banking transactions and payments, online searches and shopping.
Age plays a major role in user behavior
The study also suggests that payment functions are also popular. Overall, 26% of respondents said that they very often to always use mobile payment services. According to Deloitte, however, there is no comparative data from the consultancy's previous surveys. However, surveys conducted by other companies and organizations a few years ago had identified even lower user rates for mobile payment services.
According to Deloitte, age plays a major role in user behavior: In the 65-plus generation, just 11 percent of respondents frequently pay with their smartphone.
The increase in using information technology for health tracking is not limited to vital data monitoring. Many individuals also utilize their smartphones or linked watches for step counting, with 46% of survey participants in Germany using this feature according to Deloitte's study. Moreover, smartphone users often turn their devices into multi-functional tools, as revealed by the study, with step counting being one of the popular applications on smartphones and smartwatches.
Source: www.dpa.com
