We’ve all been there.
Whether with an overly enthusiastic teenage sales adviser or your new best friend in the call center, we’ve all convinced ourselves, and them, that a personal gadget catastrophe will never happen to us. Even though we’re parting with hundreds of pounds of hard earned cash on a fragile device the size and weight of a microfibre cloth, we deny the very idea of it ever breaking in our care.
Which is strange, when it doesn’t usually take long to meet someone with a smashed phone screen, does it?
In Sweden, the most common way for 18-34 year olds to break their phone is out partying, with 12pc usually under the influence of alcohol… This comes as a little surprise, and if the progressive Scandinavians are capable of an occasional alcohol-fuelled mishap then we Brits must surely be leaders in the field.
Well, the latest findings from Switched on Insurance might surprise you. The survey, which reveals Brits and their hilarious gadget mishaps, revealed that a huge 29pc of British parents have had a child drop their phone during its lifespan. The easiest distraction for a tantrum fuelled toddler can soon become a painful replacement, as many flustered mums and dads can testify. And with a new wave of budding digital natives, this doesn’t end with phones; tablets, laptops, and cameras are also up for grabs in the fast-paced world of an angry four-year-old.
With the average millennial estimated to check their phone over 150 times per day, this represents a real threat to a new way of life.
In fact, our second most common household companions feature close behind on the list of most dangerous factors to the lifespan of your smartphone. Even our pets are out to get us!
We can almost hear the commission-driven salespeople nod their head with eager anticipation, and we get it. Sometimes, they’re right.
On the other hand, it’s just hard to believe that 9pc of Brits have driven off with their phone left on the roof until it happens to you.
The truth is, whenever we pick up a device so small that’s worth so much, we roll the dice to some extent. Some people like to encase their little feat of modern design and engineering in a thick, unsightly shatter resistant case. Others trust simply in own ability, or their ability to replace if the worst happens.
The reality is that most people will have to deal with the worst at one stage or another, usually when they least expect it!