Swedes like to talk while they eat

Press Release November 11, 2004 Swedes like to talk while they eat Three out of four Swedes think it is completely acceptable to answer their mobile phone during a family dinner, while the Danes disagree. The Swedes feel it is OK to use their mobile phone during a dinner at their friends' home, while many Finns feel they can talk on a mobile phone in a restaurant. These are some of the findings of a recent Nordic survey on mobile telephone habits that was commissioned by TeliaSonera. In the Nordic countries you should be careful about talking on your mobile phone at public places like restaurants, although opinions about this vary considerably between the countries. Almost 60 percent of the people living in the Nordic region feel it is never acceptable to talk on a mobile phone in a restaurant. In Denmark, almost 80 percent are against using a mobile phone in a restaurant, while the corresponding figure in Sweden is 52 percent. When Swedes eat dinner with their families, they consider it acceptable to use their mobile phone. Seventy-seven percent felt it was OK to answer their phone when it rings during dinner and 69 percent said it was alright to read incoming SMS messages at dinnertime. Young people in the Nordic region have a more relaxed attitude toward mobile phone manners than many older people. Young people between the age of 16 and 24 feel to a much greater extent than older people that it is acceptable to talk on their mobile phone and send SMS messages during dinner at home or at a friend's place, or when they are having coffee with a good friend. The Danes are more restrictive in their attitude toward talking on mobile phones, while the Swedes and Finns are more liberal. The mobile phone is becoming more and more commonplace in daily life. For example, a growing number of people are realizing the benefits of sending SMS messages instead of calling. About the survey: 2,063 people between the age of 16 and 64 in Sweden, Denmark, Norge and Finland answered questions in an e-mail survey. The respondents were randomly selected and are representative of the percentage of the population with access to the Internet. The survey was commissioned by TeliaSonera and conducted by the Cint research company. - - - - - - See downloads for tables For further information journalists can contact: TeliaSonera's Press Office, phone +46 8 713 58 30 TeliaSonera is the leading telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic regions. At the end of December 2003 TeliaSonera had 11,957,000 mobile customers (37,610,000 incl associated companies) and 8,061,000 fixed customers (9,160,000 incl associated companies) and 1,631,000 internet customers (1,691,000 incl associated companies). Outside the home markets TeliaSonera has extensive interests in the growth markets in Russia, Turkey and Eurasia. TeliaSonera is listed on the Stockholm Exchange and the Helsinki Exchanges. Pro forma net sales January-December 2003 amounted to SEK 81.7 billion (EUR 9.01 billion). The number of employees was 26,694 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/11/11/20041111BIT20500/wkr0010.pdf Swedes like to talk....Pdf, 78, kB http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2004/11/11/20041111BIT20500/wkr0019.doc Tables with answers in %, Word 24 kB