It happens quite often that Japanese companies forbid people to use their mobile phones while at work. While smokers have smoking areas indoor or outdoor to be out of office to have one's own time, rest of the non-smokers seem to struggle to have that private space.
Nikkei TRENDYnet, one of the established blogs on trends and technology industries, introduced one survey by describing it as "an answer to my recent wonder why private compartments in mens' room seems rather overcrowded."
The article refers to the survey done by iShare in late May 2008. They found out that nearly half of the respondents have used mobile phones inside the toilet, primarily for emails (87.4%), reading news (25.2%), and for phone calls (21.4%). Why phone calls you might wonder; but that shows how restricted you are in Japanese offices. In a confined space where there is no partitions in between, toilet seems like the final frontier left for some privacy.
Other interesting figures are:
- "Have you ever been to the toilet for the sake of using your mobile?" - 30.7%
- "Have you ever dropped your mobile phone in the toilet?" - 16.1%
Japanese toilets, they often come with culture-specific features like Sound Princess (a fake toilet flushing sound to cover whatever noise your 'output' would make; it was developed because women tend to waste papers and water to cover the sound) and auto-flush which you could avoid using your hands to flush the toilet as you lift your butt. With clicking sound that could echo in a toilet and your hand occupied with a precious mobile, perhaps these features have regained their demands nowadays.
Valid respondents: 743
Survey period: 2008/5/30 - 2008/6/2
Male - Female: 56.1% - 43.9%
Age group: 20s: 25.8%; 30s: 35%; 40s: 39.2%
Source (in Japanese): iShare Inc.
http://blog.ishare1.com/press/archives/2008/06/131353.html
Nikkei TRENDYnet, one of the established blogs on trends and technology industries, introduced one survey by describing it as "an answer to my recent wonder why private compartments in mens' room seems rather overcrowded."
The article refers to the survey done by iShare in late May 2008. They found out that nearly half of the respondents have used mobile phones inside the toilet, primarily for emails (87.4%), reading news (25.2%), and for phone calls (21.4%). Why phone calls you might wonder; but that shows how restricted you are in Japanese offices. In a confined space where there is no partitions in between, toilet seems like the final frontier left for some privacy.
Other interesting figures are:
- "Have you ever been to the toilet for the sake of using your mobile?" - 30.7%
- "Have you ever dropped your mobile phone in the toilet?" - 16.1%
Japanese toilets, they often come with culture-specific features like Sound Princess (a fake toilet flushing sound to cover whatever noise your 'output' would make; it was developed because women tend to waste papers and water to cover the sound) and auto-flush which you could avoid using your hands to flush the toilet as you lift your butt. With clicking sound that could echo in a toilet and your hand occupied with a precious mobile, perhaps these features have regained their demands nowadays.
Valid respondents: 743
Survey period: 2008/5/30 - 2008/6/2
Male - Female: 56.1% - 43.9%
Age group: 20s: 25.8%; 30s: 35%; 40s: 39.2%
Source (in Japanese): iShare Inc.
http://blog.ishare1.com/press/archives/2008/06/131353.html
Leave a comment