When the news of the ban reached the general population of Pakistan, a mixed reaction was recorded; some believed it to be a threat to their freedom of speech while other saw it as much needed intervention for the youth of Pakistan.
But who are the real opponent and proponents of this ban, and why this ban on post midnight telecom packages was a significant issue for its advocates remained a puzzle.
For this very reason, ROZEE.PK’s latest survey investigated the general concerns the population of Pakistan had with the night time talk time packages, and whether any of the theories offered by the proponents of the ban were in fact true.
Nationwide, 45% of the respondents admitted making late night calls. Of these 54% use cellular network, 34% make use of mobile applications only and 12% use a combination of both mobile applications and cellular services to make late night calls.
Night Calles, Using Communication Mediums
Night Callers Who Use Mobile Apps
A comprehensive breakdown of the demography reveals male respondents (47%), employed respondents (47%), engaged respondents (53%), and respondents from Islamabad (48%) to be in the majority of users who make late night calls as compared to their respective counterparts.
When asked how long the respondent spend time talking post midnight, 20% of the users admitted making daily post midnight calls, whereas a whopping 30% said they make them a few times every week.
44% of the users talk for a minimum 10 minutes, however, 24% talk for a good hour and 14% for more than 2 hours.
Of those who talk post midnight daily (20%), the average call lasts 2.5 hours. On the other hand, of respondents who talk few times each week, 32% said their calls last an average 10 minutes whereas 34% said their calls last an hour and 12% call for more than 2 hours a few times every week.
Nationwide, 47% of the respondents who make late night calls confessed they talk to the opposite gender. The percentage rises to 67% for engaged respondents and to 55% for respondents who are single.
Of the cities, in Karachi, 55% respondents admitted making calls to the opposite gender the most.
To understand the purpose of post midnight calls across the demography, respondents were asked to list down reasons that contributed the most to them resorting to talk post midnight.
Nationwide, the majority of respondents (72%) chose social non-romantic as a reason for talking post midnight; 48% revealed they talk to discuss affairs related to their business and 47% said their calls were romantic in nature.
The percentage for calls being made for romantic and social-romantic reasons rises for the respondents who are engaged and single. 74% respondents who are engaged and 75% respondents who are single said they talk for social-romantic reasons; whereas, a whopping 71% respondents who are engaged and 53% respondents who are single said they talk for romantic reasons which is a comparatively significant amount spent by them than those who are married (30%).
52% of the respondents across Pakistan voiced that post-midnight talk time packages should be banned. Demographically, respondents in Lahore (13%) and Karachi (14%) voted there shouldn’t be any ban on the late night talk time packages.
A significant majority across all demography felt neutral regarding the ban on talk-time packages which suggests the ban doesn’t affect them in any way.
However, a significant change in perception for the late night talk time packages was seen when the response of those who talk late night was recorded against those who don’t.
19% of those who talk post midnight strongly believed there shouldn’t be any ban on the late night talk time packages; on the other hand, only 6% of those who don’t talk voted it shouldn’t be banned.
26% respondents who were using the late night talk time packages for romantic purposes, 20% of those talking for social non-romantic purposes and 20% users talking for business strongly opposed the ban.
Another interesting account was recorded from the respondents who spent time talking late night daily. A massive 37% of them strongly opposed the ban, the feelings shared by the 25% respondents who spend time talking post midnight few times every week.
When asked whether they will continue talking post midnight if the ban is implemented, 42% late night callers across Pakistan replied in the affirmative. In both Karachi and Islamabad, the percentage of late night callers who would continue talking post midnight in spite of the ban rises to 51%.
For those who talk for romantic reasons, the ban will not have a significant affect as 46% would still continue talking post midnight, the same goes for those talking for business (47%) and social non-romantic reasons (43%).
52% of the respondents who are talking daily also revealed the ban would not change their routine as they will still talk post midnight even if they have to pay more for it. However, the usage pattern for post midnight calls would shift for those who are talking few times each month (63%) and those who are talking only on weekends (60%) as both revealed they’ll stop talking if the ban in implemented.
Nationwide, 41.13% of the respondents who took the survey admitted using discounted packages to make calls whereas others have not activated a special talk time package to make calls.
Interesting to note that individuals who are single and engaged are the ones making use of the discounted packages in the majority.
53% engaged respondents and 43% respondents who are single make use of the discounted packages comparatively more than the married respondents who took the survey.
Of those 41% who use a discounted package, 7.91% respondents admitted using the night talk time packages;
Interesting to note a whopping 45% respondents use 24-hour talk time packages which lets them talks at a discounted rate throughout the day and night.
% type of discounted packages used
An online survey was initiated by ROZEE.PK on December 7th, 2012 and lasted till December 16th, 2012 inviting individuals from all over Pakistan to express their opinion about the ban on the late night talk time packages and what impact, if any, it had on their daily routine.
More than 1700 respondents from across 146 cities in Pakistan completed the survey. A thorough demographic classification of the respondents is given below.
Age: A majority of respondents (46%) belonged to the age bracket 20-25.
Gender: 85% of the respondents were males while 15% were females.
Working Status: 60% of the respondents who took the survey were employed respondents while 23% were student respondents.
City: The majority of respondents belonged to Lahore (25.54%), Karachi (17.29%), Islamabad (12.68%), Rawalpindi (4.10%), and Faisalabad (5.06%).