How much does your phone tell about you your personality?

Andrea Tyson
Staff Writer

​       For many people in the twenty-first century, life revolves around their smartphone and electronic devices. Think about it for a moment; your phone says a lot about you. This is probably why most of us spend so much time picking out the perfect case, choosing the ideal screen and background, downloading the apps that interest us, and customizing our playlist to our own music taste. One look into your phone and so much about your personal life is unveiled; this may be one reason why we don’t like other people looking through our phone. The link between your personality and your phone was one factor that led scientists to look into the correlation type of phone you have (Android or Apple) and your personality traits in a general sense.
        "In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that an individual's choice of smartphone operating system can provide useful clues when it comes to predicting their personality and other individual characteristics," said Dr. David Ellis from Lancaster University. One study, conducted by the University of Lincoln’s School of Psychology and Lancaster University, gave users a questionnaire on their attitude toward their smartphone. The experiment occurred in two steps: first, five hundred smartphone users were given a questionnaire regarding their own personality and the attitude they had towards their smartphone; second, the researchers tested these presumptions.

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        A similar study was done by Hunch, a personalized recommendation service, that surveyed 15,818 of its users to look into the standard personality, lifestyle, and demographic of Android and Apple users. The site published an infographic about their findings. 
Here are some of the several interesting things that the Hunch, Lancaster University, and the University of Lincoln’s School of Psychology found out about Android and Apple users. 
Android users are more likely to be:

• “10% more likely to be male”
• Older users
• “Slightly more likely to be pessimists”
• “71% more likely to say they tend to follow”
• “Less interested in wealth and status”
• “57% more likely to prefer an ugly device that’s full-featured”
• “47% more likely to have first used the Internet after 2000”
• Android users tended to prefer the ice cream flavors; Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Vanilla, and Cookies and Cream
• “Slightly more likely to briefly listen to the pitch when reached by a telemarketer”
• “12% more likely to have pets”
• “They’re also 72% more likely to visit an online dating site, compared to 58% of iPhone users.”

Apple user are more likely to be:

• “18% more likely to be women”
• Younger users
• “Slightly more likely to be optimists”
• “27% more likely to say they tend to lead”
• “More likely to see their phone as a status object”
• “122% more likely to prefer a sleek device that does just a few things”
• “50% more likely to text while driving”
• Apple users tended to prefer the ice cream flavors; Salted Caramel, Mint Chip, and Lemon Sorbet
• “Slightly more likely to immediately hang up on telemarketers”
• “15% more likely to have vacationed in the last six months”

To see the Hunch’s full infographic, click here
Was your personality spot on with the traits associated with your smartphone? How many of the results matched up with your personality?