Over half of East Midlands residents don't feel guilty about ignoring parents' calls

You may have made a fuss of your mum yesterday for Mother's Day but it seems people in the East Midlands aren't generally that great when it comes to speaking to their parents.
How often do you ignore your parents' calls?How often do you ignore your parents' calls?
How often do you ignore your parents' calls?

New research has shown that over half of East Midlanders (51 per cent) feel no guilt when ignoring their parents' calls.

And 11 per cent of older people in the UK are in contact with their friends and family less than once a month.

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The survey of over 1,000 people, was conducted on behalf of mobile phone comparison website HandsetExpert, and asked people about ignoring phone calls, remembering numbers and their preferred methods of contact.

There is some good news for the parents of the East Midlands though, 65 per cent of residents say they know their parents' phone numbers off by heart, slightly above the UK average of 63 per cent.

And East Midlanders clearly hold Mum and Dad closer to their heart than they do their career, only 52 per cent know their office phone number off by heart.

Just under half of East Midlanders (49%) know their partner’s digits without relying on their phone book, in line with the national average

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Although only a quarter claim they never ignore or decline calls to their mobile, the East Midlands has a slightly higher percentage than average of worst offenders; eight per cent of those polled admit to ignoring 11 or more calls a day.

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Residents of the East Midlands were far more likely than the average Brit to ignore their boss outside of working hours, with 37% of those polled admitting to sacking off their boss’ attempts to get in touch - compared to the UK average of 29%.

The East Midlands is a national leader when it comes to writing letters. When asked how they would prefer to contact their parents, 5% get out a pen and paper. This is almost double the national average, which stands at 3%. But much like the rest of the country, the vast majority prefer to hear their parents’ voice; 58% prefer to call.

Interestingly, when it comes to communicating with their parents, those in the East Midlands were the least likely (9%) to use instant messaging services such as Whatsapp in the UK.

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Shahrum Gilani at HandsetExpert says: "Our research shows the profound influence modern technology has had on our daily lives. Even 15 years ago, not knowing a loved one's phone number would have been highly unusual - now it's the norm.

“It's also fascinating to see the difference in priorities across different regions, with the proportion of people who remember the numbers of their loved ones as opposed to their work changing depending on which part of the UK you are from.”