The average smartphone user in Thailand checks the device 176 times a day -- with Line, Facebook and games the most popular and frequently used, according to the Digital Life Survey.
The Digital Life Survey app tracked the smartphone use of 197 people aged 15-45 in Greater Bangkok for two weeks in May.
The app's main function is to record the data of real-time smartphone use to analyse the behaviour of smartphone users on the Android operating system.
"Thai consumers have actually changed their smartphone use due to factors that include age, sex and occupation," said Uraiporn Cholsirirungskul, chief executive and senior consultant of Mirum (Thailand), a global digital agency under WPP Group.
The survey found that Thai people use their smartphones 176 times per day on average. Communications, social media, utilities, gaming and the internet are the top five uses.
The apps with the most frequent use include Line, accounting for average use of 261 minutes a day, followed by Facebook at 113 minutes and games at 48 minutes.
Smartphone use totalled 461,252 times. This means that consumers activated their smartphones an average 176 times per person per day, or activated an app every five minutes.
The survey also found that the period from 4pm-8pm yielded the most frequent smartphone activation at an average of 49 times per person.
An average user would unlock the screen to activate the smartphone 47 times per day.
Among respondents, teenagers, also called the "Teen Genz", were found to have the most frequent screen use.
So-called modern parents also had a high frequency of smartphone use during 4pm-8pm.
Ms Uraiporn said Mirum (Thailand) developed the Digital Life Survey app on Android for the purpose of gaining in-depth information on users' behaviour in Thailand.
Thailand currently has 44 million smartphone users, but there is a lack of information on consumer behaviour.
The development of a real-time smartphone use recording app that also collects data on age, sex, occupation and daily use will allow for more effective communication planning strategies in the digital era than data collected from interviews or online surveys, Ms Uraiporn said.
The Digital Life Survey can be downloaded from mirum.co.th/paper.