December 18, 2013 - 11:02 AM
TORONTO - Would you dash off a quick text message to wish a friend or family member a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or Joyous Kwanzaa instead of calling?
Cellphone-toting Canadians are less likely than their global counterparts to text message home for the holidays, according to the results of an online Ipsos poll of 18,000 people in 24 countries.
Still, 59 per cent said they had done it in the past.
That was actually the lowest percentage among the two-dozen countries involved in the survey and well below the global average of 73 per cent.
About 89 per cent of the respondents in Sweden, 84 per cent of South Africans, 83 per cent of Russians and 82 per cent of Spaniards and Indonesians had sent their best wishes by text.
Canadian women were more likely than men to text their friends and family during the holidays (64 per cent versus 54 per cent of Canadian men) as were residents of British Columbia and Alberta (69 per cent).
About 46 per cent of the Canadians surveyed said they've used Skype, FaceTime or another video conferencing app to communicate with family members, compared to the global average of 42 per cent.
Canadians were a bit below the global average when it comes to using the cameras built into their mobile devices to take holiday snapshots, instead of using a traditional camera.
About 62 per cent of the Canadians polled said they've used their phone or tablet to take family photos, compared to the global average of 65 per cent.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013