Tech-Savvy Generation: A Correlational Study of the Usage of

Smartphones of Different Age Range

Galve Carl Jan, Labang Dianah Dee, Prado Edrianne

ABSTRACT - The literature shows of these contacts are smartphones (Silver,

that age is moderately related to the amount 2020). According to Statista, in 2019, around
of time individuals spend on thier 57.6 percent of the population in the Philippines
smartphones. This study aimed to used smartphones. By 2025, it is projected that
investigate how people classified in different about 77.1 percent of the entire population
age groups vary on the average amount of would be using smartphones (Sanchez, 2020).
time they spend on their mobile phones.
Convenience sampling method via interview According to Statista, 1.4 billion
was used to gather the data from 12 smartphones are sold each year around the
teenagers, 12 young adults, and 12 late world annually, speeding up its rate especially in
adults. Analysis of the data revealed that on populated countries such as China and India. In
average, respondents allocate approximately 2017, people spent at least 5 hours on
5.5 hours each day for smartphone usage. smartphones every day. With the wide range
However, most respondents who were and vast development of smartphones, we have
classified as late adults did not meet this today; people have become much more curious,
mean. Moreover, Pearson Product and therefore spend more time with the gadget.
Coefficient formula was used for further This research is intended to ascertain the ages
analysis of the data which gave a regression that are likely to engage in new technologies
value of -0.57. This means that there is a that fall in this generation.
moderate inverse relationship between the
age of an individual and how much time they Smartphones help people connect and
spend using their smartphone. In other communicate with each regardless of the
words, as the age of an individual increased, distance between them. In this generation full of
the less time they spent using smartphones. technology, smartphones have become an
essential need for everyone. People in different
I. INTRODUCTION age ranges use smartphones for different
purposes and would often use the item for hours
Mobile technology has expanded across each day. This study will mainly focus on
the globe exponentially. With the advancement smartphone usage and how it varies across
of mobile technology, specifically smartphones, different age gaps.
people have become dependent on these
gadgets (Chiang, Jiang and Lin, 2015). People Moreover, mobile and communication
have become creative to what these technologies are ever-evolving and have
technologies can give, having its own cultural changed the world. Many of these changes are
activities around mobile phones that shaped a highly significant in education. The rise and
person with a new persona (Berry and Schleser, popularity of smartphones in particular, has
2014). In this generation, smartphones are the paved the way for mobile learning which is
go-to of people whenever they need anything, commonly referred to as “m-learning” (Motiwalla,
thus giving more time and attention to the said 2007; Quinn, 2001).
gadget.
Furthermore, Motorola (Goodwin, 2017),
smartphones have grown in their capabilities
The rate of adoption in having a
smartphone is rapidly increasing in every age and features,and are now an essential item in
the hands of almost every individual. Numerous
group. Today, more than 5 billion individuals are
smartphones have the capability to access
reported to have mobile devices, and over half
applications that allow emailing, sending with it in hand, fumbling over social networking
messages to other cell phone devices, services (SNS). Furthermore, Höffken and
accessing school and work websites, and Streich (2013) proclaimed that with the
connecting on various social media platforms advancement of smartphones opened a door for
that are popular today. More specifically, most people to communicate easily and have greater
individuals rely on their cell phones to get access in getting information and participation in
through their daily plans, activities, and a community.
responsibilities especially learning lessons.
Baek, Kim and Lee (2013) conducted a
In addition,smartphones are soon to be study in Korea, and the result showed that most
the preferred internet access device leading us mothers expect smartphones to help children,
into a new generation of e-commerce, namely specifically infants and toddlers with the age
mobile commerce or m-commerce. The range of 0-4 years old in the aspect of learning.
on-going transition,from desktop to smartphone Parents would give children the privilege to use
has led to an uprising problem for companies smartphones whenever they want to, and to also
within the area of e-commerce. soothe and entertain them whenever they are
busy. Furthermore, Journals articulates that
Review of Related Literature children use smartphones with educational value
and age-appropriate games. Teens and adults
Media consumption had increased use smartphones for social networking services
exponentially throughout the years. More than as well as gambling and violent apps. Elderlies
twice as many young people watch videos every on the other hand, use smartphones for calling,
day as did four years ago, and the average time address book, alarm and reminders. According
spent watching videos has roughly doubled, to to the 2017 Global Mobile Consumer Survey,
an hour each day (Siegel, 2019). According to a 93% of the total population of the United States
survey published by Common Sense Media, who use smartphones the most are the teens
they ascertained that since 2015 , and the young adults, as they are the most
8-to-12-year-olds living in the United States familiar users of the said gadget.
spend 4 hours and 44 minutes on the computer
on average each day. Teenagers, on the other According to Industry News, it can be
hand, spend 7 hours and 22 minutes, not expected that for every three out of four Filipinos
counting time spent using school or homework own a smartphone in which they use to access
screens. Similarly, a study by George Thomas, the internet. On average, individuals surveyed
et al. (2020) which covered 130 participants found themselves to devote 174 minutes or
showed that 52.3%, which were 5-18 years old, close to three hours of their day. Nielsen (2020)
exceeded the 2-hour screen time, with 1.3 to 7.9 reported that Filipino smartphone users say that
average hours per day (Bennie, Biddle, Castro, they divide their digital lives on entertainment
De Cocker, and Thomas, 2019). (78 minutes per day), applications (56 minutes
per day), and communications (40 minutes per
With the rise of smartphones, it has day). This means that entertainment is a huge
drastically changed the way in which people factor in why individuals use their smartphones.
access data and information. The rapid growth Following their partiality towards entertainment,
of smartphones increases people’s demands Google Play Store is the app with the largest
and expectations for their services (Rennhoff overall reach of 90%, and an average of two
and Routon, 2016). Moreover, Negahban and minutes consumption per smartphone user. The
Salehan (2013) stated that with the penetration most used app, however, is Facebook with an
of smartphones in the community, people 89% overall reach, and an average usage of 37
started to get addicted to the said gadget, minutes a day per smartphone owner.
specifically the youth, giving most of their time
Factors demanding smartphone usage diverse level of satisfaction towards
Smartphones. In this new era, Oulasvirta et al.
A. Demand (2011) stated that the phones now feature with
wireless connectivity, a built-in Web browser,
Demand can be defined as “the application installation, full programmability, a
willingness and the ability to pay a price for a file management system, multimedia
specified product and service” (Sexton, 2007). presentation and capture, high-resolution
Intention to purchase depends on the degree to displays, several gigabytes of storage and
which consumers expect the product to satisfy location and movement sensors. Besides, the
them when they consume it (Kupiec and Revell operating system and camera are the features
,2001). When a consumer wants to make the that most Smartphone users focus on. The most
purchase decision, they will pass through the popular operating systems for mobile phones
process through recognition, search information, are Symbian, RIM Blackberry, Apple iPhone,
evaluation, purchase, feedback (Blackwell, Windows mobile, Google Android and Linux
Miniard, and Engel, 1995). Therefore, the (Gowind, 2010).
consumer will choose a product or brand to
According to Chang and Chen (2005)
consume from various choices in the market.
each operating system has its own exclusive
According to Bettman, Johnson and Payne
personalities and backgrounds. Wickliffe and
(2000), different situations will be affected by
Pysarchik (2001) suggested that consumers
different factors. Consumers have different
select products based on attributes which create
tastes, needs, motivation and lifestyle when they
specific benefits that engender specific
want to purchase a product (Chisnall, 1985).
outcomes that are supportive of personal values.
Some of them preferred high quality and willing
Products with attributes that enhance these
to pay high prices, some of them are not
factors are therefore selected based on the
(Monroe, 2003).
importance of integration. According to Puth et.
al. (1999) consumers’ uses attributes to make a
Furthermore, the consumer behaviour
comparison between competitive brands and
towards purchasing a product can be
marketers therefore use attributes in advertising
investigated through the consumer
to influence the consumer's evaluation of
characteristics. It includes brand conscious,
substitution by featuring the product's significant
price conscious, quality conscious, recreation
attributes.
conscious, innovation conscious, confused by
over choice, impulsive and brand (Leo, Bennett, C. Brand Name
and Hartel, 2005). Therefore, it is important to
study the factors that affect the consumer's However in the recent changing global
decision towards buying a Smartphone. The environment, competitive advantage, profitable
variables under investigation in this study ways and efficiencies are the most important
include product features, brand name, price and gears that companies are forced to seek for in
social influences. order to differentiate among them in the
business world (Mei, Dean and White, 1999).
B. Product Features Brand names are valuable assets that help
correspond quality and suggest precise
A feature is an attribute of a product that knowledge structures which relate to the brand
to meet with the satisfaction level of consumers’ (Srinivasan and Till, 2002). Researchers have
needs and wants through the owning of the distinguished that brand name as an important
product, usage, and utilization for a product tool in improving a product’s value (Dodds,
(Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, and Gary, 2007). In Monroe and Grewal, 1991).
such modern technology days, consumers have
come to realize that different features will bring a
 According to Rotfled (2009), brand (Aaker, 1991). In a consumer’s heuristics, a high
name is an exclusive and is to indicate the (low) price connotes a high (low) quality and
product itself to the market. Besides according image. For a conceptual convenience, there are
to the American Marketing Association, they two types of products by price: high-priced
defined the brand as “name, term, symbol, or brands and low priced brands (Kunal et al.,
design, or a combination of them intended to 2010). High-priced brands are brands on the
identify the goods and services of one seller or market whose image is seen as the key factor.
group of sellers and to differentiate them from Consumers of these brands often purchase
those of competition” (Khasawneh and them mainly for image and are willing to pay a
Hasouneh, 2010). Haigh (2007) has proposed premium price for their perceived high quality
three definitions: ‘‘trademark’’ is a logo with and status, which make them price-inelastic
associated visual elements, ‘‘brand’’ is a (Bolton, 1989). Low-priced brands tend to be
trademark with associated intellectual property purchased for utilitarian value, with the
rights, and ‘‘branded business’’ covers the whole consumer relying on the perceived value for
organization. According to Rao and Ruekert price. However, consumers would typically
(1994), they stated that one of the major look for low prices of these brands or substitutes
objectives of a brand name is to provide to get the best value (Kunal et al., 2010).
information on the quality of a product. Consumers tend to interpret higher prices with
Moreover,the value of a brand name higher quality, and low prices are perceived as
added to the product is named as brand equity an indication of inferior quality (Rao and Monroe,
(Farquhar, 1989). Developing brand equity is 1988). Rao and Monroe (1988) studies are
thought to be an important component of brand consistent with Etgar and Malhotra’s (1981)
building (Keller, 1998). Brand equity is assumed findings. Etgar and Malhotra’s (1981) explained
to convey several benefits to a firm (Pappu, that most of the consumers will regard high price
Quester and Cooksey, 2005). Brands might goods and services equals to high quality. Thus,
develop sustainable competitive advantage for if the price level is at a peak but the quality or
firms (Aaker, 1989). As a result, if consumers features comply with the consumers’
perceive a particular brand favourably, then the expectation; they might perceive it as fair and
firm may have a competitive advantage (Pappu, are more willing to pay a higher price to own a
et. al, 2005). More and more companies realized better quality goods or services (Monroe, 2003).
that one of their most priceless assets is the According to Thaler (1985), there are more than
brand names that related with their products or a couple of brands of mobile phone that
services (Cornelis, 2010). In recent aggressive consumers will find in today’s market, this will
competitive market place, the most critical most likely influence the consumers’ indicator on
success element for companies is the brand the pricing that is being sold. Price is no longer
name that were being used by a an element that can be ignored for investigation
whether or not it is a crucial factor that affects
D. Price consumers’ behaviour in products and services.
Recently, most of the consumers are pursuing
On the other hand, Nagle and Holden high quality services, though service is an
(2002) stated that price can play a role as a important factor, yet the unwillingness of
monetary value whereby the consumers trade it consumers to pay for obtaining a higher level of
with services or products that were being sold by service by sacrificing an extra amount can still
the sellers. Price will always be the key concern be seen (Tse, 2001). On the other hand, price
of consumers’ before making any purchasing might not be part of their considerations
decision (Smith and Carsky, 1996). The level of especially when dealing with web shopping,
price is found to positively affect behavioral which the major concern falls on convenience,
intentions mainly because price establishes an security and store offer (So, Wong and Sculli,
image of the brand in the eyes of the consumers 2005). According to Kenning, Evanschitzky,
Voegl and Ahlert (2007), over 90 percent of their friends, colleagues or others in social
retailers in this market screen the prices of their network sites. This shows that people will be
competitors on a regular basis. Price influenced by their friends when they are making
a decision on buying a product. According to
E. Social Influences Rashotte (2007), social has a great influence on
an individual, especially when a large portion of
Social influences means one person an individual holds a particular thought, attitude,
causes another to make a change on his/her feeling or behaviour. It is likely that the individual
feelings, attitudes, thoughts and behaviour, will adopt the particular thought, attitude, feeling
intentionally or unintentionally (Rashotte, 2007). and behaviour as well.
It resulted from interacting with each other.
Social influence includes the influence of media, II. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
parents and peers (Nelson and McLeod,2005).
Social Influence is defined as the degree to A. Respondents of the study
which an individual perceives that important
others believe he or she should use the new A total of 36 respondents who own a
system (Venkatesh et al., 2003). Generally, smartphone were included in this study;
peers are the primary influences, followed by as it is reasonable to get 30
media and parents, at research in the United respondents with a confidence level of
States. According to Nevenzahl and Secunda 95%-99% (Kirby, A., Gebski, V., Keech,
(1993), social influences are concerned with AC., 2002). Among the respondents
how individuals learn the skills, knowledge and were 12 teenagers, 12 young adults,
attitude relevant for consumption. According to and 12 late adults. Teenagers are
Rashotte(2007), conformity, power and authority individuals classified with ages 15 to 18.
are different with social influence. Conformity will Young adults were classified with ages
occur when a person expresses an opinion in 19 to 29. Lastly, Late adults were
order to meet the expectation of others. Power classified belonging to ages 30 to 59.
means one person forces another person in The researchers collected the data from
order to control his/her outcomes. their family members and friends in their
Furthermore, authority is the power that communities using a convenience
is believed to be legitimate by those who are sampling method. .
responsible to it (Rachotte, 2007). Many
researchers have found that the social B. Research Design and Procedure
influences play a vital role when the consumers
are making decisions on purchasing (Mourali, This study embraces a correlational
Laroche and Pons, 2007). People tend to be qualitative research design wherein two
easier influenced by the words of others variables are tested for a relationship. The
(Kelman, 1961). In a survey of teenagers, both researchers used a Pearson Product Moment
male and female reported that they always seek correlation for finding the strength of the
advice and opinions of their friends based on relationship and its direction whether direct or
fashion-related items and tend to purchase the inverse. Since the data required for this study is
similar clothes that their friends wear (Nelson the data for age and average hours of
and McLeod,2005). smartphone usage, the researchers collected
That in recent research from NAR’s the data through personal interviews.
Center for Realtor (2009), reported that the most
smart phone application category they used is III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Social Media application e.g. Twitter, Facebook
and etc. Consequently, smartphone users To analyze the general
decide to use smartphones to keep contacting implication of the data collected, all average
hours of smartphone usage from the different using smartphones, and 25% spent less than
age gaps were summed and divided by the 5.5 hours using smartphones.
number of total respondents which gave the
value of 5.597222222. This implies that every
individual spends about 5.5 hours on their
smartphone each day. This is in line with the
findings of Milenkovic (2020) which states that
people spend around 5.4 hours a day using
phones.
To further elaborate the results, the
number of individuals in each age range who
meet the total average and those who do not
was plotted by the use of pie charts.
Fig. 3.​ Number of Hours Late Adults Spend on
Smartphones

On the other hand, the findings for 12

late adults show that 33% spent more than 5.5
hours in using smartphones, and 67% spent less
than 5.5 hours in using smartphones.

The collected data from the 36

respondents were calculated and tabulated
using Pearson-Product Moment, which will direct
the correlation between age ranges and screen
Fig. 1​. Number of Hours Teenagers Spend on time. The table below shows the values needed
Smartphones to find the regression value, as the x-values are
substituted with the age range and y-values as
The findings show that among 12 the average screen time.
teenagers, 75% of the respondents spent more
than 5.5 hours in using smartphones, and 25%
spent less than 5.5 hours in using smartphones. Σx Σy Σxy Σx2 Σy2

1045 201.5 5143 37713 1332.25

Table.1​ Needed Values to Calculate for
Correlation

The values are then substituted to the

formula of correlation. The number of
participants is multiplied to the value of xy. Then,
the summation of x is multiplied to the
summation of y, which is subtracted to the
product. It is then divided by the square root of
the respondents, which is multiplied to the
Fig. 2.​ Number of Young Adults Spend on
summations of the x-values and the y-values.
Smartphones
The first value was obtained by multiplying the
Furthermore, the findings for 12 young respondents to the value of xy, and subtracting
adults show that 75% spent more than 5.5 hours the product to the summations of x. Same thing
happens in the second value. The formula
simplifies the process. 1. Parents must supervise the screen time of
their teenagers, as they can get
inappropriate information and can be
addicted to the smartphone. It is best to
make phone rules for teenagers to still
have enough time to sleep and to prevent
obsession from the said gadget.
2. Young adults should train themselves to
limit the use of smartphones to avoid
addiction to prevent stress and to focus
more on their education.
Fig. 4.​ Pearson correlation coefficient formula 3. Late adults must know that addiction to
smartphones can affect the performance of
The regression value is -0.57, which their jobs, thus, they should know when to
specifies that there is a moderate negatively stop using smartphones to prevent
weak relationship between age ranges and slacking.
screen time. This is shown in the table below.

Table. 2​ R values implications

IV. IMPLICATION

Based on the findings of the study, the

researchers have found out that the majority of
the individuals who are classified as late adults
spend less time using their smartphones
compared to those who are classified as
teenagers and young adults. Furthermore, the
researchers computed the r-value of the data
gathered and have ascertained that there was a
slight negative correlation on the age of the
respondent and the average amount of hours
they spend on their phones each day. This
means that there is a moderate negative
relationship between age range and the hours
spent on smartphones. The researchers
concluded that age plays a role regarding the
way individuals use their smartphones.

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studying at the University of the Immaculate
Conception as a Pharmacy Student.