While searching for an article to do this week’s blog post, I discovered the Pew Internet article on “the rise of apps culture.” I found it especially intriguing because it went into so much detail regarding the users of cell phones in general as well as users of wireless Internet and apps. The article discusses the number of (over 18) adults that use apps in great detail in relation to age, gender, race, education, and income. The number of apps average users have, how often they download apps, and how often they use those apps are also topics explored in this article.
I think it says a lot about our culture that 35% of adults with cell phones have apps. As the purpose of cell phones has gone from voice calls to texting to Internet access and beyond, apps have arrived to flesh out the cellular world. A whole host of new software has arisen that is designed specifically for your mobile phone.
The part of the article that I found the most intriguing was the section discussing how frequently users downloaded apps. According to the article, the most frequent apps users were not the 18-24 group (29% of this group user their apps multiple times a day) but 25-34 year olds (44%) and those 35 years and older (44%). The younger apps users were much more likely to say they used their apps for less than half an hour a day. This was very surprising to me, because I would have expected younger groups to use apps more often than older groups. Further down in the article, however, it states that 25 and up adults are more likely to use apps to improve what they are currently doing, finding a place to eat, shopping, and at work. Young adults are more likely to use them while socializing with friends or while they are at school. Older adults use apps for more practical purposes, while younger adults use them for more recreational or social purposes. I think this must be why adults use apps more often during the day.
I think that "app culture" is somewhat overblown. In the case of cell phones, I use a few key apps on my Droid regularly - GasBuddy, Bank of America Online Checking, Facebook, and a calorie counter. Out of these, only the calorie counter truly warrants it's own application; the other three are simply webpages compartmentalized into their own applications for ease of use. None of those apps would exist anywhere but the Droid/iOS simply because they could be easily done on a full-fledged internet browser, which isn't easy to use on a smart phone. This might even explain why young users don't use apps as much as older users do - younger users are on the go less often, and probably have unrestricted access to an actual computer more often than their elder peers do.
ReplyDeleteThat's really interesting. I don't use any apps b/c my phone is pretty low-tech, but I do use the alarm clock & calendar on the phone much more than I use it for making calls.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the study tracked just use, or who was using the apps? I've noticed that a lot of the over-30 set have games and other "distraction" apps on their phones that their young kids can play at boring moments. So if the study is just looking at how often something is downloaded/used, then it might not truly be catching the correct age group (at least, not all the time).
Wow, this is pretty interesting. We've been a culture of multitasking that's for sure. Now cell phones can basically replace a laptop altogether. It seems we are becoming increasingly connected, and there's no going back.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's surprising how older age groups (25+ years) use apps more frequently. I feel like it's normal to see college students glued to a cellphone for everything besides phone calls. I'm sure as data plans and smartphones become less expensive, app culture will experience shift in its demographic of users.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised that the number of apps users is so low. I would expect the number to be much higher. But I suppose there are still people who have not gotten the message about technology and still have phones that are used to make phone calls.
ReplyDeleteThe assessment that the older demographics use apps for more practical purposes is very interesting. And true, I think. Older people, when using their phones, are going to try to accomplish tasks, while younger people, who are more likely to have had a cell phone for a larger portion of their lives, are more likely to use their phones for texting and entertainment.