subject: Are We More Or Less Americans? [print this page] More Americans are addicted to cellphonesMore Americans are addicted to cellphones. According to a 2012 survey by SecurEnvoy, a company dealing in mobile phone technology, 66% of us are addicted. That's up from 53% in 2008. The survey also found Americans check their cellphones an average of 34 times a day. The younger you are, the likelier you are to be addicted; and women are likelier to be addicted than men. The warning signs include obsessively checking your phone, constantly worrying about losing it and never turning it off. The addiction is called Nomophobia, as in "No mobile phone phobia". It's "your call" whether you have it.
Americans spent 8% more on Mother's Day in 2012. According to a National Retail Federation survey of 8,700 consumers, that equaled $18.6 billion. Approximately 87% of Americans spent an average of $152 - up from $140 in 2011. Although flowers, cards and brunch were the most frequently given gifts, 13% of shoppers gave electronics, such as tablets and digital cameras. The increase in spending wasn't attributed just to an improved economy. Mother's Day has become a far-reaching event including wives, daughters, sisters and friends. In fact, Mother's Day is second only to Christmas as the biggest gift-giving holiday. It's become "mom-entous".
Less Americans are dying in traffic accidents. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated traffic deaths decreased 1.7% in 2011. Highways deaths decreased about 26% between 2005 and 2011. The 2011 estimate of 32,310 deaths occurred in a year when vehicle miles traveled decreased by 1.2% - 35.7 billion miles. If the estimate holds, the 2011 fatality rate would drop from 1.11 per 100 million miles traveled to 1.09 - which would be the lowest rate on record. Crackdowns on safety belt usage and drunk driving, safer vehicles and improved road design are thought to have been the "driving force".
Forty-nine percent of Americans aren't saving for retirement. That was the finding of a 2012 survey of 2,697 Americans by LIMRA, a trade association for the financial services industry. People ages 18-34 were the least likely to be saving. In fact, 56% were not currently contributing to a retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k). Almost 50% of those surveyed weren't planning to contribute to an IRA because they couldn't afford to and only 25% have worked with a financial planner to plan for retirement. Considering retirement is 20 years or more, Americans need to "work this out".
