Survey Finds Cell Phone Is Single Woman's Lifeline

July 11, 2007 — -- You wake up after a fun night out and check your cell phone. Neatly stacked in the sent text messages box are a few things you wish you hadn't sent.

It's called text shame and according to a recent study, 40 percent of single women between the ages of 18 to 35 have experienced it.

In addition to talking, single women use cell phones for nearly everything -- from relationship aids and organizers to fashion accessories, according to a new survey commissioned by Samsung of 500 single women ages 18 to 35.

"A cell phone does much more than make calls for the 'single mobile female,'" Randy Smith, vice president of Channel Marketing for Samsung, said in a statement. "The cell phone is an integral part of the SMF's life, serving as a pocket-size detective, matchmaker, wing-woman and beyond. It is now officially a girl's best friend."

Overseas, cell phone companies are already attempting to deal with text shame. In Australia, Virgin Mobile's Dialing Under the Influence program allows users to dial 333 and then the number they want to block at the beginning of the night; the women will not be able to contact that number until 6 a.m the next morning.

Twenty-seven-year-old Samantha Tabes from Falls Church, Va., who said her phone is her livelihood, could have used such a service in nights past.

One night she called an ex-boyfriend while she was out and didn't remember it.

"I was surprised to find him at my house when I got home," Tabes said. "I didn't realize that I texted him until the next day."

She's also had accidental texting mixups.

"I've texted something about someone to the person I was talking about accidentally," she said.

According to the survey, cell phones are beginning to replace everyday items. More than seven out of 10 women have ditched the traditional paper address book in favor of cell phones and nearly 75 percent of women surveyed said that they look at their cell phones rather than a watch to get the time.

Eighty-two percent of single Southern women store all their contacts in their cell phones, compared with 64 percent of Midwesterners, 70 percent of Westerners and 71 percent of Northeasterners.

Amy Brozick, 23, is one of those people.

"I don't know anyone's number because I don't have to," she said. "Whenever I lose my phone and need to call someone, I am lost because everything is automatic."

Brozick said it's difficult to remember phone numbers, even the important ones.

"It took me a year to memorize my last boyfriend's number, and the last numbers were 9000," she said.

Similarly, 43 percent of women between the ages of 18 to 29 are cutting their land lines and going mobile, exclusively.

When it comes to relationships, cell phones play a major role in the life of the single young woman, according to the data.

One out of three women surveyed said she asked friends to call during a date to check on her.

Tabes, however, said she won't answer her phone during a date.

"When a girlfriend calls and I'm on a date ,I usually ignore it even if it's a crappy date," she said.

Boyfriends should watch out, too; single women also use cell phones for surveillance. According to the survey, 70 percent of women say they've snooped on their significant other's cell phone to see whom he's calling.

"I've looked, but I've never found anything," Tabes said.