The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project did a survey recently of cell phone users and how they use them. The big story making the rounds is that 13% of cell phone users have used their phone to avoid people around them. I admit to have done this myself, but rarely. I like you, really.

This might be a good read for the biggest companies (Apple, Samsung) to take a look at how todays “smartphones” are working for or against the customer. Personally I would just be glad if they could make phone calls a little better. Put the phone back in smartphone.

Here are some of the other statistics they found:

Cell phones are useful for quick information retrieval (so much so that their absence can cause problems) – Half of all adult cell owners (51%) had used their phone at least once to get information they needed right away. One quarter (27%) said that they experienced a situation in the previous month in which they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone at hand.

Cell phones are an important tool in emergency situations – 40% of cell owners said they found themselves in an emergency situation in which having their phone with them helped.

Cell phones can help stave off boredom – 42% of cell owners used their phone for entertainment when they were bored. (Angry Birds, FTW)

Despite their advantages, some cell phone owners just need an occasional break – 29% of cell owners turned their phone off for a period of time just to get a break from using it.

With advantages comes frustration – 20% of cell owners experienced frustration because their phone was taking too long to download something; 16% had difficulty reading something on their phone because the screen was too small; and 10% had difficulty entering a lot of text on their phone.

Cell phones can help prevent unwanted personal interactions – 13% of cell owners pretended to be using their phone in order to avoid interacting with the people around them.

Source: The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project