New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Cell phone habits of college students in US, South Korea studied

Date:
November 7, 2014
Source:
University of Texas at San Antonio
Summary:
The cell phone habits of 1,600 college students in the US and South Korea have been the focus of recent study by researchers who determined that mobile media is standardizing communications across the globe. The study found that students were turning more to their mobile phones to find information rather than to traditional media.
Share:
FULL STORY

Seok Kang, associate professor in the UTSA Department of Communication, collaborated with Korean researcher Jaemin Jung to study the smartphone habits of college students in the United States and South Korea. The researchers were particularly interested in the type and amount of information college students from both countries disclose. The study was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

The two countries were selected due to the high rates of smartphone ownership among their young adults. Eighty percent of Americans own smartphones, while the ownership rate in Korea is about 90 percent.

Previous studies have shown that Americans are individualistic and more explicit when they communicate in comparison to South Koreans. They also are more forthcoming when expressing concerns. Meanwhile, Koreans are implicitly reserved and tend to assess their environmental climate before they reveal personal information. Kang sought to determine if this cultural difference extended to the students' mobile communication habits. He also was interested in how the users in both countries were satisfied with their smartphone use.

For nearly a year, the researchers conducted online surveys and analyzed the data of more than 1,600 students from both countries. Participants measured the amount of time they spent using their smartphones and how they used them.

American smartphone users were more likely to use their phones for email, texting and social media. Korean smartphone users were more interested in entertainment and information gathering.

"Mobile media is facilitating our communication needs more than traditional media such as television, radio or newspapers," said Kang. "It really is comprehensive and has great potential to do even more. Mobile media is standardizing our communications across the globe."

Kang joined UTSA in 2007 and has been studying digital communications since the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the late '90s. He has published 30 journal articles and five book chapters on digital media, and his articles have appeared in the Journal of Broadcast & Electronic Media, The Asian Journal of Communication and The International Journal of Mobile Communications.

He received his doctoral degree in telecommunication from the University of Georgia, his master's degree in communication from Illinois State University and his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology degree from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, Korea.

In the future, Kang would like to expand his studies to compare the United States with countries in South America or Europe.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Texas at San Antonio. Original written by Kris Rodriguez. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Seok Kang, Jaemin Jung. Mobile communication for human needs: A comparison of smartphone use between the US and Korea. Computers in Human Behavior, 2014; 35: 376 DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2014.03.024

Cite This Page:

University of Texas at San Antonio. "Cell phone habits of college students in US, South Korea studied." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 November 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141107134939.htm>.
University of Texas at San Antonio. (2014, November 7). Cell phone habits of college students in US, South Korea studied. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141107134939.htm
University of Texas at San Antonio. "Cell phone habits of college students in US, South Korea studied." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141107134939.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES