75% pretend to use phone to avoid social interaction, says Kaspersky study

For many, connected devices serve as an excuse to avoid interacting with other people when faced with an awkward social situation.

The latest survey by Moscow-based cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab found this tendency after 75 percent of respondents admitted that they pretended to be busy with their devices when they do not want to talk to other people.

"Dependency on connected devices affect our lives more than we think. Undoubtedly, being connected is convenient. 

"However, devices are also important to help people get through various social situations that are difficult," said Kaspersky Lab product marketing VP Dimitry Aleshin in a statement as quoted by Indonesian news agency Antara.

Additionally, the study also suggests that 72 percent of respondents have used connected devices when they do not know what to do in certain situations. 

This behavior also serves as a form of distraction without having to appear busy or when they are avoiding eye contact with someone. 

Meanwhile, up to 46 percent of respondents said they used their devices only in their spare time and 44 percent used it as a daily distraction. 

The study also shows that almost 31 percent of respondents prefer to book a taxi or look for directions when traveling via websites or applications because it allows them to not speak to other people.

Due to these two functions of avoiding direct contact and assisting in daily social situations, our constant dependence on connected devices causes a huge panic whenever they malfunction.

According to the survey, 34 percent of respondents are worried that they will not be able to entertain themselves if they cannot access their devices. 

Meanwhile, 12 percent said they were worried that they would not be able to pretend to be busy when their devices malfunctioned. - The Jakarta Post / Asia News Network