Smartphones are ten times dirtier than toilet seats

Less than two decades ago many South Africans’ ablution companion was a magazine of some sort. A page-turning while-away of some private time.

Smartphones have changed all of that. Today it’s more likely that your phone remains by your side in the loo, magazines having given away to online content and social media for a rather captive audience.

A survey in the United States, in 2019, already showed that 44% of Americans never wiped their cell phones but 88% of them took the devices to the loo, and half of them did that every day. Another study, done in 2015 by telecom operator Verizon, showed more or less the same result. At the same time, a poll in South Africa suggested that only 39% of South Africans do the same.

An anecdotal quick call around saw a few hands-full of people admit to the practice, closer to 90%, compared to the lower numbers published before. But, there’s no data to suggest that the dipstick survey holds any water. Yet, if it stands up, it means South Africans could be just as guilty as Americans in indulging in some scrolling before the loo paper gets rolling.

Mobile phones have become such a large part of our lives that the devices literally travel from bed to bathroom to the lounge to the kitchen and to the dinner table. At the same time, our hands touch questionable surfaces moments before posting an all-important status update on social media or reading about the next Kardashian folly.

ALSO READ: New flagship phone takes the fight to the Oppo-sition

Now, picture your phone’s journey during your day. A 2017 study by the University of Arizona said that phones are ten times filthier than toilet seats.

The gifts that keep on giving across mobile devices include transmission of colds and flu, strep throat and even E.Coli courtesy of a less-bored poop.

Someone texts using your phone, and they didn’t wash their hands. A colleague or partner takes a call on your device, and coughs or sneezes. It’s all coming right back at you.

Even during the pandemic, when sanitizing was religiously practiced, smartphone cleanliness did not enjoy the same prominence as donning masks, hand washing and sanitizing.

ALSO SEE: Cellphones – the good, the bad, and the ugly

The Federal Communication Commission in the US published a suggested hygiene regime on its site in 2020, at the start of Covid-19. Cleaning your device at least once a day as a preventative measure was recommended. The site also provided guidelines from manufacturers on how to clean a phone.  

Phones should be unplugged, lint-free cloth used that’s dampened with soap and water. Cleaners should never be sprayed directly onto the device and aerosols must be avoided along with solutions that contain bleach or other abrasives. It’s also a good idea to keep liquids and moisture away from any openings on the device, the site suggested.