How are Tulsans Using Cell Phones? A Study by Denise White Oklahoma State University

Hypothesis The younger generation uses cell phones for a wide variety of purposes, and the middle-aged and older generations use them for more traditional purposes like calling and texting.

Data Collection Administered survey at the Food Pyramid shopping area on 101 st and Memorial. Survey was only given to adults (ages 18 and over) who own a cell phone. Respondents were classified into one of three age groups: 18-29: Younger 30-49: Middle-Aged 50 and Over: Older

AgeStrongly AgreeAgreeNeutralDisagreeStrongly Disagree I make most of my phone calls from my cell phone. I send text messages from my cell phone. I check my and surf the internet on my cell phone. I send and receive files from my cell phone. I use my cell phone for other applications. The Survey

Results A total of 33 people responded to the survey; 11 from each age group with equal numbers of males and females. Upon analyzing the results, I realized that a Likert scale was not appropriate for these questions. Because most people answered either “strongly agree” or “strongly disagree”, I converted the data to yes/no responses.

How Tulsans Use Cell Phones

Conclusions My hypothesis was not correct. According to my data, although all younger respondents use their cell phones to make calls and text, the middle-aged group uses their phones for a wider variety of purposes. When debriefing with the respondents, the trend I discovered was that many younger respondents were not able to afford the fees required for the additional services on their cell phones, but the middle-aged group was able to afford the services and learn the technology necessary to utilize them.