• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, January 30, 2012

In what may be the first study of its kind, Alexandria, Va. agency 11mark polled 1,000 Americans to find out how they're using their smartphones while going to the bathroom. Incredibly, three-fourths of those with a mobile phone say they actively use them while going to the bathroom.

"Americans are texting, emailing, and yes -- as you may have heard -- talking on the phone in the bathroom," the "IT in The Toilet" report finds, adding: "Approximately one-quarter of Americans report they don’t go into the bathroom without their phone.

11mark says the goal of the report was to establish a "bathroom benchmark" examining "just how connected we have become."

The report finds Droid users are slightly more likely to use their phones in the bathroom overall; 87% have used their phone while indisposed, versus 84% of BlackBerry users and 77% of iPhone users.

BlackBerry users are most likely to answer a call in the bathroom (75% report they have done so, versus 67% of Droid and 60% of iPhone users.

Droid and iPhone users are more likely to browse a social network or use an app in the bathroom than their BlackBerry colleagues.

As might be expected, Gen Y respondents were the heaviest users of IT in the toilet. Ninety-one percent use their phone in the bathroom, but older generations are not far behind. Eighty percent of Gen X respondents report they use the phone in the bathroom, as well as 65% of Boomers.

“The writing is on the stall,” says Nicole Burdette, principal of 11mark. “This study confirms what we all know -- that the last private place is no longer private. And, that the ‘mobile-everywhere’ phenomenon is flushing out a host of new opportunities for savvy communicators.”