Toilet texting, conference canning and bathroom buying

A new study shows an astonishing number of people are using their cellphones on the john. From web browsing and texting to conference calls and online shopping, it seems this technology-driven world leaves no time for bathroom breaks.11mark, an integrated marketing agency, surveyed 1,000 American mobile users in October. Seventy-five percent of them admitted they used their phones while on the can — leaving no mystery as to what happens behind closed stalls.And this doesn’t just account for the technology-addicted youth. Forty-seven percent of mobile users from the Silent Generation (born 1946 or before), 65 percent of Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and 80 percent of Gen X-ers (1965-1976) use their cell phones in the bathroom.But as expected, Generation Y has the highest percentage of multitaskers, using their phones and the john at the same time.Did the same percentage of Gen Y wash their hands afterward? Ninety-two percent of those surveyed reported they washed their hands after using the restroom (perhaps all those “You must wash your hands before returning to work” signs have started to pay off).But unfortunately the same cannot be said for their mobile devices — only 14 percent wash their phones after using the bathroom. Maybe this calls for a new-age health initiative, requiring public restaurants to change their signs to “You must wash your hands — and your phone — before returning to work.”And for many, toilet talking and texting was not a just one-time thing, used only in the most dire circumstances. Twenty-four percent of mobile users reported they actually don’t go to the bathroom without their phones.In a world where you can’t even have a moment of solitude on the loo, one is forced to wonder, isn’t anything sacred anymore?