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Survey: 78M Americans Damaged Their Smartphones in the Last Year

The amount of money spent on cellphone screen repairs surged to $8.3 billion in 2023, nearly tripling the amount spent in 2018 ($3.4 billion), according to new research by Allstate Protection Plans.

Researchers found that 49% of American smartphone owners report spending more time on their phones than a year ago, and that 27% of American smartphone owners say they would initiate screen repairs within a day due to the importance of their phones in everyday life.

In its third Mobile Mythconceptions study, Allstate Protection Plans also looked at the common causes of smartphone damage and their costs, along with consumer attitudes toward repairing, replacing and recycling their phones.

It found that while the use of smartphones is on the rise, the frequency of damage saw a slight decrease from previous years. In the past 12 months, 78 million Americans reported damaging a device compared to 87 million during a comparable period in 2020. However, consumer concerns about the environmental impact of repairing or replacing a device have increased over the same time period. Nearly half (53%) of smartphone owners say that is important to them, compared with 37% of Americans in 2020.

Other survey findings include:

• 45% of smartphone owners spend five or more hours looking at their screens.
• 82% of smartphone owners claim their phone has replaced their digital camera, with 39% taking six or more photos per day and 31% capturing more than six videos per day.
• Over half (54%) of smartphone owners report watching more videos, TV shows, and movies on their phones than on TV.
• While 31% of smartphone owners report having damaged a smartphone in the past year, only 8% permanently lost their device and 5% had them stolen.
• Liquid was once a frontrunner for the most common type of cellphone damage, however, as smartphone water resistance has improved, liquid damage continues to slide down the list. Last year, the most frequent accidents and malfunctions were: Damaged screens (67%), Wi-Fi or connectivity issues (28%), touchscreen problems (24%), loose or damaged charging port (22%), water damage (21%), battery not working properly (21%), chipped corner/sides (20%), speaker issues (17%), dented corner/sides (15%), camera not working properly (14%), and microphone not working properly (11%).

When it comes to broken buttons, 36% say they would wait a day or less to repair their phone, 30% for damaged speakers, 29% for broken microphones, 27% for cracked screens, and 22% for broken cameras.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents who damaged their smartphones replaced their device, while 32% chose to continue using it despite the damage. Others took their devices to repair shops (23%) or attempted their own fixes (17%).

Repair costs remain a significant concern. Nearly half (49%) of respondents would not repair a damaged smartphone that still functions due to the high costs involved. The surveys found the average cost for repairs and replacements is now $302. The nation’s Repairs and replacement expenses in the U.S. collectively reached $149 billion.

Surveys were conducted in May 2023, gathering 1,500 responses, and in December 2023, gathering 1,004 responses, among a representative sample of U.S. adults.