CSUSB Palm Desert Campus Media Survey

GENDER 38 males 94 females 7 declined to disclose their gender ETHNICITY 48 White 1Black 6 Asian 65 Hispanic 1 American Indian/Alaska Native 10 Mixed/Other 139 students completed a media survey in September 2010 and December 2010 at the new student orientation. They self identified as: AGE 9 were 50 years or older 12 were years old 18 were years old 87 were years old The largest age group was 22 years old (n = 19) followed by 23 and 24 year olds (n = 14 each)

1 = none 2 = minutes 3 = 30 minutes to less than 1 hour 4 = 1 hour to less than 2 hours 5 = 2 hours to less than 3 hours 6 = 3 hours to less than 4 hours 7 = 4 hours to less than 5 hours 8 = 5 to 6 hours 9 = over 6 hours The survey reports that respondents watch about 1 to 2 hours of television daily.

1 = local news 2 = network/national news 3 = politics/public affairs 4 = drama (crime shows, medical shows, westerns) 5 = cartoons 6 = science fiction 7 = situation comedy 8 = variety (i.e., MadTV, Saturday Night Live etc.) 9 = sports 10 = game and quiz shows 11 = soap opera 12 = talent competitions ( i.e., American Idol) 13 = food and cooking 14 = music video 15 = “reality” shows (i.e., Survivor, Fear Factor) 16 = special events 17 = DVDs that are bought or rented 18 = other Dramas are the most watched television genre (n = 69), followed closely by local news (n = 64).

1 = none 2 = minutes 3 = 30 minutes to less than 1 hour 4 = 1 hour to less than 2 hours 5 = 2 hours to less than 3 hours 6 = 3 hours to less than 4 hours 7 = 4 hours to less than 5 hours 8 = 5 to 6 hours 9 = over 6 hours Most of the respondents reported that they listen to the radio about 30 minutes to 1 hour a day (n = 32). However, the second most reported was less than 30 minutes a day (n = 30) and 1 to 2 hours a day (n = 26).

1 = all news 2 = music 3 = political/public affairs/phone in 4 = sports talk/phone in 5 = other The majority of respondents (n = 113) listen to music on the radio.

1 = none 2 = minutes 3 = 30 minutes to less than 1 hour 4 = 1 hour to less than 2 hours 5 = 2 hours to less than 3 hours 6 = 3 hours to less than 4 hours 7 = 4 hours to less than 5 hours 8 = 5 to 6 hours 9 = over 6 hours Most of the respondents (n = 70) do not listen to online radio.

1 = desktop computer 2 = laptop computer 3 = i-Pod/MP-3 player 4 = cell Phone/PDA/Smart Phone 5 = other devices Almost every respondent reported that they have a cell phone (n = 130); however, most of them also have laptops (n = 106); i-Pods/MP-3 players (n = 93), and desktop computers (n = 91).

1 = talking 2 = texting 3 = 4 = Internet use 5 = other For those who do have cell phones, they mostly use them for talking (n = 126) and texting (n = 119).

1 = surfing the web 2 = 3 = playing games 4 = entertainment/celebrity news 5 = homework/research 6 = watching online videos 7= shopping/buying/product and service searches 8 = paying bills 9 = listening/downloading music 10 = reading news 11 = communicating with friends on social websites (i.e., Facebook and MySpace) 12 = instant messaging 13 = other Respondents use their computers mostly for ing (n = 128) and homework (n = 125). The third most use of computers is for surfing the web (n = 109) and paying bills (n = 95).

When asked what website they visit the most, responses ranged. However, 21 respondents indicated the CSUSB website. Many of the websites visited included Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Youtube, MSN, banking websites, and Ebay or Craigslist.

1 = MySpace 2 = Facebook 3 = Twitter 4 = None 5 = Other Clearly Facebook is the most frequented social media (n = 94).

77 of the respondents said they would join PDC’s Facebook.

62 respondents said they would not join PDC’s Twitter. 47 were not sure and 21 said they would.

1 = general campus information 2 = emergency services, e.g. campus closures 3 = financial aid deadlines and information 4 = scholarship information 5 = census dates 6 = registration information, e.g. dates, deadlines 7 = class information, e.g. change in class schedule 8 = lecture information, e.g. dates, speakers, topics, etc. 9 = theater/entertainment, e.g. shows, dates, etc. 10 = club information 11 = bookstore information It appears that respondents desire several types of information on PDC’s Facebook page. This includes general information (n = 106), financial aid information (n = 94), and registration and class information (n = 93 each). They were least interested in census dates (n = 45) and theater information (n = 53).

While most students were aware of PDC’s free wireless service (n = 88), most of them had not used it (n = 104). This is most likely because they were attending new student orientation and had not yet activated their wireless accounts at that time.

Most of the respondents indicated that they would use PDC’s wireless internet in the future (n = 119).

1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neutral, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree Most of the respondents were satisfied with their ISP. They believe their ISP to be fast and reliable and internet speed is their most important feature for them.

The respondents reported their ISP to be: AT&T = 2 Comcast = 2 Cox = 1 Dish = 1 Hughes = 1 Net Zero = 1 Sprint = 3 Time Warner = 62 TMobile = 1 Verizon = 35

Summary - The results of this survey confirms and dispels some beliefs about new PDC students. These students watch very little television on a daily basis. This may be due to the fact that they are in college and probably work or have families that keep them away from the television. Their television genre is relatively sophisticated with dramas and local news, as opposed to purely entertainment programming such as cartoons and variety shows. They also listen to the radio very little during the day. I speculate that their radio time is either spent while at home getting ready in the morning or commuting to/from school and/or work. This may account for music being the most reported genre they listen to on radio. It also may account for why most of them do not listen to online radio. I would not go so far as to say that the digital divide is over; however, it is evident that most of these college students are well equipped with technical devices. Moreover, they appear proficient with their devices using them for a variety of purposes. Clearly PDC should have a Facebook page since students would use it for a variety of reasons. Results also suggest that PDC theater should have a separate Facebook account. Students do not appear to be interested in Twitter; however, that may take care of itself in that the two forms of social media are merging.