• by Steve Smith , Staff Writer @popeyesm, May 10, 2012

Yeah -- we asked for a recount on that one ourselves. But that headline is not drafting off of yet another dot-com nobody spewing another infographic. Meredith’s Parents Network, which includes venerable brands such as Parents, American Baby, FamilyFun and Ser Padres, issued the second part of its Media and Moms survey of moms born between 1977 and 1994 to find that media is permeating every aspect of their existence.

And the cell phone has become a mainstay, with 21% of respondents saying they use it in the bathroom.  And, yes, kids -- at least 12% of moms say they will even use their mobile device during sex itself. And the first one of you clowns who makes a reference to vibrate mode is out of here.

We asked. Oh, yes -- we asked about this one, because we wondered if anyone at Meredith had followed up to find out how exactly this worked. Did these moms sneak email look-ups over dad’s shoulder? According to our friends at the Parent’s Network, they didn’t have an explanation, but it was cause for a heck of a staff meeting discussion. We say that a follow-up research study is in order here. I mean, talk about a use case. Which ad network or exchange will be the first to boast it can target mobile ads only to women 24-34 during sex? Imagine the CPMs for the right advertiser.  

Zeldi Research conducted the study in late 2011 with over 1,000 respondents. 

Not that this sex and media concept is entirely new. What were the old jokes about Johnny Carson and the "Tonight Show?"

But the study did give us some more immediately usable insight into a larger swath of mobilized moms. Not surprisingly, 81% of them said that shopping is the most popular use of their phone. These mobilistas have on average 13 apps on their phones, which suggests marketers and app makers will need to work hard to get into a tight circle of preferred content and tools.

But once you get beyond the sexy headline, the real takeaway from this study is that mothers now regard their mobile phone as an important shopping tool. Let the competition for her attention begin. 

And for one of the most popular applications on most phones -- Facebook -- moms actually have some mixed messages. More than half (55%) have de-friended companies, mainly because they were pushing too much advertising and content onto their feeds. And on the main Web site at least, 72% say they are frustrated with Facebook’s recent changes to the design and the privacy policies. And while 44% of moms say they now keep Facebook open all day on their computer (up 100% since 2010), 53% say they feel as if Facebook wastes their time.

Which is why perhaps they need to catch up on their media during sex? Well, 12% of them, at least. This was not the image we wanted in our heads going into Mother’s Day weekend.