Young Adult

1
Young Adults Use of Mobile Phones and Online
Social Networking -The Role of Friend

• Chih-Hui Lai
• School of Communication, Information, and Library
  Studies,
• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

2
Background

• Parks Associates survey 29 of American
  Internet users use social networking sites and
  10 do it on a daily basis (Barrett Roden,
  2007).
• 90 of US undergraduate students have
  participated in any type of social networking
  sites (Stutzman, 2006) 85 of college students
  participate on Facebook (Boyd Jenkins, 2006)
• Pew s survey 55 of all online American youths
  ages 12-17 are involved in online social
  networking sites, such as Facebok and MySpace
  (2007).
• Pews survey 7-9 of the U.S. population mobile
  phone only (2006)

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Research Motivation

• Social networking goes mobile? Combination of
  mobile phones and social networking sites
• MySpace Mobile, Dodgeball, SMS.ac, AIG,
• Facebook Mobile
• Any relationship between uses of these two
  technologies by young adults?

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Research Questions and Hypotheses

• RQ1 Are there any similar usage patterns in the
  use of these two communication technologies?
• HP1a Those who spend more time using mobile
  phones, including text messaging, are likely to
  spent more time engaged in online social
  networking.
• HP1b Those who have broader use of mobile phones
  are likely to have more diverse activities in
  using online social networking.

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Research Questions and Hypotheses (contd)

• The role of friend
• RQ2 How do friends play a role in influencing
  young peoples usage of the mobile phone and
  online social networking?
• H2a Those who have more friends using the mobile
  phone are more likely to use it more intensively.
  
• H2b Those who have more friends using online
  social networking are more likely to use it more
  intensively.
• H2c Those who have more friends using the mobile
  phone are more likely to use it for more diverse
  activities.
• H2d Those who have more friends using online
  social networking are more likely to use it for
  more diverse activities.

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Research Questions (contd)

• H2e Those who have more friends using the mobile
  phone are more likely to exhibit dependent
  attitudes toward mobile phones in their daily
  lives.
• H2f Those who have more friends using online
  social networking are more likely to exhibit
  dependent attitudes toward online social
  networking in their daily lives.
• RQ3 What are the factors that influence young
  peoples adoption and non-adoption of mobile
  social networking?

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Survey

• Two undergraduate classes enrolled in
  interpersonal communication and mediated
  communication at a university in the United
  States in March 2007
• N152, 62 female, 68 White, 78 aged between
  20 and 25.

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Results

• Hypothesis 1a was supported (r.186, plt.05),
  indicating that those people spent more time on
  their mobile phones during the weekend would
  spend more time on their use of online social
  networking.
• A positive correlation was also observed (r.256,
  plt.05), indicating that the volume of text
  messages was in proportion to the time
  respondents spent on online social networking.
• Hypothesis 1b was supported (r.248, plt.01),
  indicating that the scope of respondents use of
  mobile phones was positively correlated with the
  diversity of their activities on online social
  networking sites

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Results

• Hypothesis 2a and 2c were rejected no
  significant relationships between mobile phone
  use (intensity and scope) and friend influence
• Hypothesis 2b and 2d were supported significant
  relationships between social networking use
  (intensity (r.380, plt01), scope (r.566,
  plt.01).) and friend influence
• Hypothesis 2e was supported, showing that friend
  influence affected respondents perception of the
  critical part of mobile phones in their daily
  lives (r.240, plt.01).
• Hypothesis 2f was supported the dependence of
  online social networking and friend influence
  (r.500, plt.01).

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Results

• 45 respondents (29.6) reported using mobile
  social networking, 39 indicated most or even more
  of their friends using it
• Diverse activities
• single activity (17.8) , two activities (20),
  three activities (22.2), five and more (37.8).
  
• Reasons for non-use of mobile social networking

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Discussions

• Mobile phone and social networking usage is
  correlated, in terms of intensity and scope of
  use
• Friend influence
• On social networking
• Not on the intensity of respondents use of
  mobile phones economic decisions
• Not on the scope of respondents use of mobile
  phones immature uptake of mobile applications
  (m2.83, sd.964) economic decisions

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Future study

• Correlations between different social ties and
  communication patterns
• Influence from the specific type of ties on the
  communication mode
• Ties (strong, weak, latent, released) and the
  acquisition of overall social capital through
  these two communication technologies
• Potential for mobile social networking study

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Chih-Hui Lai chihhui_at_scils.rutgers.edu

• Thanks for Dr. James Katzs advice during the
  course of the study.