Smartphone Users Tap Facebook Obsessively

How addicted are we to Facebook? According to a new report, the answer is very: The average smartphone user checks Facebook on their phone at least 14 times a day.

IDC, a sister company to CIO.com, in conjunction with Facebook, surveyed 7,446 iPhone and Android users in the U.S. between 18 and 44 for its report, “Always Connected: How Smartphones and Social Keep Us Connected.”

Users’ obsession with the social network and the growing number of smartphone owners—which the study projects will grow by more than 26 million this year—is good news for Facebook, which has been criticized for its inability to monetize the mobile market.

On Thursday, Facebook is expected to unveil an HTC phone with Google’s Android software, a move that has the potential to boost Facebook’s mobile market share to 96 percent, according to Ronan de Renesse, principal analyst at Analysys Mason.

“Android dominates the low-end smartphone segment from which most future growth will come,” says de Renesse. “Android is therefore tactically important for Facebook to increase its reach on mobile and grow customer engagement with its apps.”

According to IDC’s report, Facebook engagement is already through the roof. Seventy percent of respondents use Facebook on their phones, and 61 percent use it each day. The average user spends nearly 33 minutes a day browsing the social network.

How does your mobile Facebook use compare? Have a look at the infographic below or

Kristin Burnham covers consumer technology, social networking and social business for CIO.com. Follow Kristin on Twitter @kmburnham. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Kristin at kburnham@cio.com