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 INDUSTRIES VERTICALS HORIZONTAL PUBLICATIONS FREE RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL EVENTS ABOUT TMC COMMUNITIES |
March 24, 2009
Text Overtakes IM, Email, Voice Among College Mobile Users
By Gary Kim Contributing Editor A recent survey of about 300 college students conducted by Ball State University found that 27 percent own a smart phone as compared to the national average of 19 percent for working adults. The research also found that 99.7 percent of students have a mobile communications device and the rates of sending text messages, e-mail, photos and videos are increasing.
Text messaging has overtaken email and instant messaging as the main form of communication for college students, 94 percent of whom send and receive text messages.
When using their mobiles to keep in touch with family and friends with 59 percent text, 17 percent call, nine percent send IMs and seven percent use email.
As lucrative as many believe mobile marketing will be, there are warning signs. The study indicates 52 percent of respondents received ads on their cell phone in the last few months, up from 24 percent in 2005. But a backlash might be building.
"In 2005, we found that 30 percent of students said they were annoyed at getting an advertisement, and that has grown to 48 percent in the most recent survey," says researcher Michael Hanley, Ball State journalism assistant professor.
"What good is an ad if nearly half of your target market is not happy about receiving it?" he asks. Gary Kim (News - Alert) is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Gary’s articles, please visit his columnist page. Edited by Jessica Kostek |
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