New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS): The time spent on smartphones has gone up considerably in the country, surpassing the time spent on any other media including TV, a report revealed on Wednesday, adding that Indian women are now more engaged on smartphones than men, watching YouTube and playing games.

According to the report by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), in association with market research firm Kantar IMRB, an average consumer spent three hours per day on their smartphones -- an increase of 55 per cent from 2015 -- in 2016.

"Social media and messaging apps were the clear leaders, accounting for almost 50 per cent of all time spent on smartphones," the report said.

The study showed that women spent twice the time on their smartphones (on YouTube and games) as compared to men. They also spent 80 per cent more time on Facebook than their male counterparts.

The report revealed the rise of online shopping category which now has 15 per cent higher reach than the entertainment, making it the second most popular category in terms of reach.

"A thorough understanding of the differential usage and consumer segments that are using smartphones and feature phones will only help marketers use their monies more efficiently," said D Shivakumar, Chairman of the the Mobile Marketing Association.

Almost 85 per cent feature phone users do not intend to switch to smartphones on their next purchase, indicating that the functional benefits of feature phones combined with their durability, battery life and ease of repair were highly coveted by these users. 

Also, feature phone users spend more money on their mobile plans, the report added.