Report: In case of emergency, try cell

Americans are crazy for our phones, especially in cases of emergency. According to new data from CallFire about 59% of Americans prefer to have emergency alerts - for weather, dangerous situations, etc. - come to them via text than through roadside signs or even television. Why? Because nearly three quarters (71%) say they've been in severe weather situations in which their television or online access stopped working; about 41% say they've been 'unaware' of dangerous situations because they didn't have real-time information.

Other interesting findings include:

• 59% say they want texted reminders about appointments, bill payments and password changes
• 52% say they want texted coupons/discounts from favorite stores
• 47% want flight cancellation details via text
• 18-34 year olds were 'most likely' to have been unaware of dangerous situations in real time
• 65+ people were most likely to feel informed about situations

Parents of young children are especially interested in texted alerts, but about two-thirds of all those surveyed (67%) said they would like real-time texted weather alerts for their area. Just over half say they're 'more likely to pay attention' to emergency alert texts.

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of CallFire.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: CallFire, mobile marketing, mobile trends, sms marketing, sms trends