Honor helps UK be more #switchedon over youth smartphone usage

Honor recently ran a marketing campaign that aimed to ‘shine a light’ on negative perceptions of youth smartphone usage.

Obviously this was done to promote a phone, in this case the Honor 20 series of phones, but behind the extremely visual campaign was a genuine attempt to challenge the misconception that the youth of today spend too much time on their phone.

In a survey carried out by Honor, 77% of over 45’s felt young people spend too much time on their devices, while just 8% of those aged between 18-24 felt their smartphone had a negative effect on their daily lives.

50% of the same age group claim to have uncovered artistic talents by using a phone, with 90% having helped older generations learn how to do something on a phone.

It’s quite obvious that all of us, at any age, can sometimes spend too much time on our smartphones. That’s what has led to innovations like Digital Balance, a feature of Android that is available on Honor phones. This allows you to manage screen time as a whole, or on an app-by-app basis.

Other things like the use of the eye comfort mode at night also helps users of any age wind down in order to get a good night of sleep.

But it isn’t so much about using a phone, but rather how you use it.

Honor discovered that Generation Z (18-24 year olds) are using their phone in more positive ways than other age groups.

For example, 40% are using their phone to be more creative (versus 10% of other ages), 30% to increase social consciousness (versus 10%) and 20% to be more conscious of the environment (versus just 8%).

80% of Generation Z use their smartphone as the primary connection to the world, and would be less aware of world news, politics or the environment without one.

In particular, 60% have signed an online petition (with 25% sharing with others), while 42% follow a politician or activist on social media.

Another thing young people feel a smartphone improves is the ability to be more flexible, to multi-task, and to help with time management. It can also help make some extra money on the side.

More than half of 16-24 year olds use their smartphones to do things like buy and sell clothes, or blog. 83% use photography as a means of communication, with 29% sending multiple images per day.

Many do this to make money and be entrepreneurial, while others do it to be more sociable and express their creativity, as well as to expand their network.

Meanwhile 44% of over 55’s don’t think a smartphone has benefitted their work in any way at all.

“Our research shows that young people are getting more out of their smartphones than any previous generation, and we’re proud to help them continue to do so. Phones like our new Honor 20 Pro mean young people can start to change their world as easily as they change the track they’re listening to, so the fact that so many of Gen Z are embracing the opportunities smartphones offer is really great to see.”

Olivier Dobo, Honor UK Marketing Director

The marketing campaign saw Honor partner with Graffiti Kings to create a 30 foot artistic mural on a wall in Shoreditch, using a mix of regular paint and glow-in-the-dark paint that showed a totally different story at night.

The concept was to show the mix between the perception of what Generation Z are up to on their phone, and the reality.

• The Honor 20 Pro is available to purchase for £549.99 and is part of the Honor 20 series that includes the Honor 20 Lite and Honor 20.

More info: Honor