DULLES, VA—If you keep a portable device close to your bed so you can check your email, you’ve got plenty of company, according to the results of AOL’s latest “Email Addiction” survey. More Americans than ever before use portable devices to check email day and night, and from virtually anywhere—bed, cars, bathrooms and even church.

“Email is becoming more and more accessible, and people continue to take advantage of that,” said Regina Lewis, AOL Online Consumer Advisor.

“As the survey data shows, portable devices – like email itself – are becoming more prevalent and easier to use. Because you can access email services from virtually anywhere and on almost any wireless device, it is easier to stay connected to work, home, family and friends through email—and instant messaging as well—than any other form of communication.”

AOL, in partnership with Opinion Research Corporation, conducted online surveys with 4,025 respondents 13 and older in 20 cities around the country to measure email usage. It showed that email use on portable devices has nearly doubled since 2004.

People are checking email around the clock. According to the survey, the average email user checks mail about five times a day, and 59 percent of those with portable devices are using them to check email every time a new message arrives.

Forty-three percent of email users with portable devices say they keep the device nearby when they are sleeping to listen for incoming mail.

With or without portable devices, 15 percent of Americans describe themselves as “addicted to email,” and many are even planning their vacations with email access in mind.

About four in ten email users say it is “very” or “somewhat” important to them to think about email accessibility when they are planning a vacation, and eighty-three percent of email users admit to checking their mail once a day while actually on vacation.

DC most addicted
Washington, DC is the most “email addicted” city in the country. Eighty-two percent of Washingtonians have multiple email accounts – the highest percentage of any city in the survey. Rounding out the top 10 cities addicted to email are: 2.) Atlanta; 3.) New York; 4.) San Francisco; 5.) Houston; 6.) Los Angeles; 7.) Seattle; 8.) Orlando; 9.) Denver; and 10.) Miami.

Forty-three percent of email users check their email first thing in the morning, and 40% have checked their email in the middle of the night. Twenty-six percent admit to checking email on a laptop in bed while in their pajamas.

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