YOUNG EARLY SMARTPHONE ADOPTERS Levy, E.C, Ariel, Y., Avidar, R., & Malka, V.

Young Early Smartphone Adopters  Recent developments in the field of mobile communication technologies and their expansion have led scholars to a renewed interest in the usage of mobile phones  The research questions that guide this study are designed to map the patterns of usage and the profiles of the typical young early adopters of smartphones.

Young Early Smartphone Adopters  The theoretical framework is the Uses and Gratifications approach that probes on the main needs that new media fulfills for its prospective audiences  The aim of this study is to explore whether and how young people use their smartphones to satisfy various personal and social needs.

Research Questions two key questions guide this study:  RQ1: What are the main uses of smartphones among young early adopters?  RQ2: To what extent do young early adopters attribute various gratifications to smartphones?

Methods and Data  Based on a survey of 550 Israeli young early adopters (ages 21-31), this study looks at the Israeli context, one of the fast-growing smartphone markets worldwide. The study focuses on a young population that is known for its early and fast adaptation processes of new technologies.

Results  Our findings suggest that although the smartphones replicate their function as a medium for voice conversation (performed daily by 85.3%), they are mainly used for Web surfing (87.3%) and for text messaging (83.5%).

Results  Five indexes of gratifications clusters were computed: (1) Cognitive index; (2) Human integrative index; (3) Environmental integrative index; (4) Emotional index and (5) Diversion index. Our results indicate that the highest gratification indexes were the Human integrative index and the Cognitive index. Furthermore, both indexes significantly correlated with the extent of applications’ usage (r=24, r=.52 respectively).

Discussion  The study reveals that interaction is the keyword for smartphone usage. Young early adopters experienced the smartphones as rooted in their cognitive activities and not just as tools for amusement or diversion. This study can enhance our understanding regarding the role of contemporary communication technologies in fulfilling the needs of their prospective audiences.

Yaron Ariel Vered Malka Ruth Avidar Eilat Chen Levy