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12 percent of younger moms use cellphone during sex: study

Some moms are more into romancing the phone than romancing their mates: 12 percent use their phones during sex, according to a survey.It takes a bit of imagination — maybe too much, really — to picture that scene, much less the logistics. And it does beg at least a few follow-up questions: Are those moms texting, talking or playing "Words With Friends" during such intimate moments? And if the
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By Suzanne Choney and Suzanne Choney

Some moms are more into romancing the phone than romancing their mates: 12 percent use their phones during sex, according to a survey.

It takes a bit of imagination — maybe too much, really — to picture that scene, much less the logistics. And it does beg at least a few follow-up questions: Are those moms texting, talking or playing "Words With Friends" during such intimate moments? And if they're talking, are they hands-free, er, that is, wearing a Bluetooth headset?

Those are answers we'll never learn from the otherwise informative "Moms & Media 2," a survey by Meredith Parents Network, which publishes several magazines including "Parents" and "American Baby."

"When we saw the results we were wondering the same exact thing," a spokesperson for Meredith Parents Network told us. "Unfortunately we don't have any anecdotal data about the how's or the why's."

The tech-centered behavior comes from mothers between the ages of 18 and 35 — dubbed "Millennial moms," born between 1977 and 1994. "There is no part of their lives that is media free," the company said in a statement.

As further evidence, 21 percent of these moms use their phones in the bathroom, although the surprise there is that the figure isn't higher. It's hard to go into any public restroom these days without hearing those of either gender on the horn while they're on the john.

Among the other findings:

  • 81 percent of Millennial moms said shopping was the No. 1 way they use their smartphones
  • They have an average of 13 apps on their phones, and two-thirds say that fewer than half of those apps are for their kids.
  • They have a "love-hate relationship with Facebook." While more than 8 in 10 moms use the social network, 72 percent are frustrated by "all of the recent Facebook changes to its format and privacy policies," and 53 percent said they feel Facebook "wastes their time."
  • 55 percent of time-starved moms said they de-friended companies on Facebook, with "too many messages and ads being the No. 1 reason," Meredith Parents Network said.
  • Video streaming is on the rise for this group: 23 percent streamed TV in 2011, compared to 16 percent in 2010. 
  • Only 41 percent said they watched live TV in 2011, compared to 55 percent in 2010.

"Today's moms are media omnivores," said Carey Witmer executive vice president and president of Meredith Parents Network, in a press release. "Controlling their voracious diet is so important to them that they are constantly creating new rules about how and when media intermingles with their busy lives via their various devices, screens and networks."

The survey was done last November and December by Zeldis Research Associates for Meredith Parents Network. A "nationally representative sample" of Millennial moms, with children from infants to age 12, was taken, and 1,041 complete questionnaires returned.

 

More stories about the crazy digital lives we lead:

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