The survey was conducted by Vital Vio, a technology company developing ways to kill germs, mold and fungi with advanced LED technology. The survey questioned about 1,200 Americans and determined that more than 1 in 4 men have never cleaned their phones; 1 in 5 women, on the other hand, have never cleaned their phone.
And why is that a big deal?
Well, according to the study, the average person usually comes into contact daily with more than 60,000 different types of bacteria, including staph and E.coli, that are likely very easily transferred to their phones.
Perhaps even more shocking is that 2 in 5 Americans (41%) said that they just put their phone in their mouth when they can’t use either one of their hands. In addition, more than half of those surveyed revealed that they put their keys in their mouth, and 54% have even placed a credit card inside their mouth. A surprisingly large number of people (34%) even admitted to putting money inside their mouth.
Eighty-eight percent of Americans surveyed also revealed that they bring their phones into the bathroom with them, with 46% saying that they even do so in public bathrooms. Women, however, were more likely than men bring their phones into the bathroom with them (90% versus 85%). Ninety-four percent of millennials (those between the ages of 23 and 38) said they use their phones in the bathroom, compared to only 74% of baby boomers (aged 55-75).
In addition, parents were more likely to bring their phones into the bathroom with them than nonparents, often because parents want to catch up on some work without any distractions.
“Parents often seek solace in their bathroom and use the alone time to catch up on work emails, text messages, phone calls or social media by bringing their phones with them. In fact, those with kids are even more likely to use their phones in the bathroom (93%) than those who are childless (83%),” the survey notes.