Festive Tech Fails: giffgaff Reveals Hilarious Mobile Mishaps Brits Expect This Christmas!
With the Christmas season rated as the most social time of the year, new research commissioned by mobile network giffgaff, reveals the top mobile blunders the nation is set to make after a few festive tipples. Staggeringly, over half of the nation (52 per cent) have admitted to making a mistake whilst texting, with a further 10 million Brits revealing those messages have been sent in error to their boss or parents.
With the festive silly season well under way, the nation is set to make even more mobile blunders as the data revealed that over a third of UK adults (35 per cent) admit to making tech blunders after one too many – in fact, nearly 7 million Brits (13 per cent) expect to send a squinty-eyed DM to the wrong person.
What’s more, a tenth of respondents have even forgotten their own phone’s passcode and found themselves locked out, in spite of nearly two thirds of Brits (62 per cent) thinking they’re tech savvy. Instead of hiding with embarrassment, giffgaff is flipping these gaffes and embracing them.
Some of the top tech gaffes we make regularly are; messaging something to the wrong person (35 per cent), taking an accidental selfie (20 per cent), ringing the wrong person and having to have a chat with them (33 per cent), and putting a video call to your ear (10 per cent).
34 per cent of the nation admitted they’ve also made similar blunders via their social media accounts. A tenth of those surveyed said they had accidentally posted a picture to their story, while 9 per cent confessed to going ‘live’ unintentionally.
Mobile fails can happen to any one of us, so giffgaff has teamed up with content creator Abby MacDonald, who went viral on TikTok earlier this year for a cringe-worthy moment that had the internet in stitches. Abby’s boyfriend accidentally purchased a fake iPhone with incorrect emojis and she recorded her reaction to the gaffe on her TikTok page which sent the internet into a frenzy with over 439K views and counting.
Abby MacDonald added: “At first, we couldn’t believe that my boyfriend had been sold a fake iPhone or that it was even a thing! He was definitely in denial, thinking it just needed an update. But as we flicked through the phone, we definitely saw the funny side, especially when emojis didn’t look quite right. Whilst it’s something we can laugh about now, it’s great to know giffgaff guarantees a wide range of refurbished phones that have gone through careful testing – we’ll be heading there next time we need a phone.”
These mobile blunders can make people feel embarrassed (30 per cent), or anxious (7 per cent) and 15 per cent simply switch their phone off and 11 per cent opt for airplane mode, to stop them sending anything out they may regret. Despite this, well over a tenth (13 per cent) see the funny side.
Ash Schofield, giffgaff CEO says: “The festive season is all about connecting with friends and family, not worrying about making a mobile blunder. At giffgaff, we want everyone to see the power of connectivity in whatever they’re doing, even if it’s a mistake that you can hopefully laugh about eventually.”
For those wanting to stay connected this festive season – pair your tipple with the perfect phone and data deal. View the full range at giffgaff.com.
TOP 10 TECH GAFFES:
Called someone accidentally
Sent a message to the wrong person
Ringing the wrong person
Accidentally closed a needed app during use
Sent email without intended attachment
Sent an incomplete or draft message
Deleted an important message (text, email, voicemail message)
Forgot to switch to silent mode in a quiet setting
Accidentally triggered virtual assistant (e.g., Siri)
Taking an accidental selfie
