A new study has revealed Brits’ top ten phone icks, with common behaviours like saying “LOL” on the list.
“The ick” refers to a visceral and sudden feeling of repulsion to someone, often triggered by something seemingly menial or irrational.
Everything from doing a baby voice to wearing a baseball cap has been described as “ick” on social media.
@victoriabachlet i don’t know how i have never noticed this before😂😂 #husbandwife #ick #newickunlocked #husbandandwife #husband #comedy #couple #married #marriedlife #marriedcomedy #marriedhumor
♬ original sound - Victoria Bachlet Powell
Now, new research has shown that there are a variety of phone behaviours that Gen Z find off-putting, with 58 per cent saying they would dump a potential partner due to bad phone habits.
The poll of 2,000 Brits, commissioned by Sky Mobile, revealed that over half (54 per cent) of participants think that bad mobile behaviour has risen in the last year.
Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of participants report that phone etiquette makes them cringe multiple times a week, with 50 per cent of Gen Zers reporting this to be true
Ben Case, Managing Director of Connectivity at Sky says: “Our research shows that our phone habits say more about us than we realise and can even make or break a relationship.”
Interestingly, 61 per cent of participants said they were embarrassed by their own texting habits, committing at least two “phone icks” a day.
The survey also revealed striking generational differences when it comes to emoji use.
Gen Z and Millennials were most impacted by emojis, with 42 per cent admitted to judging personalities on emoji use alone.
The poo, tongue sticking out, laughing and skull face all ranked highly for “the ick”. The survey also revealed a generational divide, with 66 per cent of Gen Zers considering the thumbs up emoji rude, while only a quarter (25 per cent) of Boomers believing this to be true.
What are the biggest phone icks?
Here are the biggest phone icks, according to the survey:
1. Playing loud video or voice notes in public – 33 per cent
2. Saying “lol” in every message – 26 per cent
3. Loud ringtones or alarms – 24 per cent
4. Not using punctuation or having constant typos – 24 per cent
5. Taking pictures of your food – 21 per cent
6. Late replies – 21 per cent
7. Overusing emojis or GIFs – 20 per cent
8. Keyboard sounds left on – 17 per cent
9. Having a grubby or cracked phone screen – 17 per cent
10. Texting ‘??’ after 2 minutes of no reply – 16 per cent
© The Standard Ltd