Smartphone use: How much do we still use our cell phones for calling?

Modern Smartphones are true all-rounders – they are a camera, music player and the entire Internet in one. It is easy to forget that cell phones once started out as simply mobile phones.

It is therefore no surprise that almost everyone under 49 has a smartphone (95 percent) and almost all 50 to 59 year olds are also equipped with smart phones (93 percent). Among 60 to 69 year olds, 85 percent still have a smartphone and even among those over 70, the figure is 68 percent.

The older you are, the less you use the phone

But how much do we actually still talk on the phone? A survey conducted by the industry association bitkom in March 2024 shows that across all age groups, only just under 20 percent of smartphone usage is for traditional phone calls.

This is how much people in Germany depend on their smartphones – Infographic

Surprisingly, the older people get, the lower this proportion becomes.

Contrary to the prejudice that the younger generation no longer makes phone calls, their share is the largest at 19.8 percent: Of the 182 minutes spent on the smartphone every day, 19.8 percent are phone calls.

People over 65 spend significantly less time with their mobile (a total of 96 minutes per day), but also less time spent on calls: they spend 17 minutes on the phone per day, a share of 17.7 percent.

And what else do people do with their smartphones? Messenger apps like WhatsApp are very popular. But video streaming, listening to music and gaming are also very popular.