WhatsApp tops for tech-savvy SA students

Students admit to checking their phone messages in lectures but claim social media addiction is not a problem. Picture: REUTERS/Albert Gea

Students admit to checking their phone messages in lectures but claim social media addiction is not a problem. Picture: REUTERS/Albert Gea

Published Mar 4, 2015

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Johannesburg – Facebook remains the most popular social networking platform for the youth of South Africa, who also admitted to having recently discovered selfie platform, Instagram.

They also said they preferred to pay personal visits to their banks for information instead of using the phone or getting onto websites.

More than 90 percent of the young tertiary students interviewed, put WhatsApp at the very top of instant messaging platforms, half saying they used Facebook Messenger and slightly fewer than those admitting to using BBM.

Old favourite Mxit, stood at only 17 percent – on par with pinboard-sharing network Pinterest.

“Communication is at the heart of students’ use of technology,” says Daryl Bartkunsky, managing director of the Student Brands youth portal.

“They are also extremely budget-conscious, so anything that cuts the cost of making contact will appeal to them.”

These were among the key responses of 2 300 student participants of the 2015 Student Tech Survey, which painted a picture of an increasingly tech-savvy audience.

The survey of hih-tech habits of students was conducted across the country’s tertiary institutions, by World Wide Worx and Student Brands, with the support of Standard Bank.

It was done with the aim of establishing trendlines for changes in the student technology landscape, and it found that although addiction to social networks was considered an issue, it was not a major one.

Only 11 percent admitted to being “very addicted” to social networking, with 43 percent saying they were “a little addicted”.

Twenty percent admitted to being very addicted to instant messaging. A quarter acknowledged that they gave their smartphones and social networks priority over studying for tests and exams, with a similar proportion admitting to using these during lectures instead of paying attention. On the positive side, a whopping 90 percent said technology like smartphones, the internet and social media helped them research better, while 67 percent said it helped them increase their knowledge of the subject they were studying.

Other strong benefits cited were that it helped sharing information (60 percent), learning studying techniques (42 percent), and having a channel for discussions with lecturers (38 percent).

“Technology delivers both the positive and negative for students,” said media analyst Arthur Goldstuck.

“The overwhelming finding of the survey, though, is that it enhances their academic and social lives and their lifestyles in general.”

Wi-fi hotspots were the most important form of connecting to the internet, while campus was the most common location for connecting.

Close to 40 percent were Android device users, indicating that leading operating system BlackBerry, whose usageage was at 32 percent, had been overtaken.

About one in 10 said they still used feature phones, 7 percent used Windows, with a little fewer saying they were on Apple’s iOS.

“The survey is a powerful indication that the student market – which comprises future working professionals – is embracing social networking,” says Vuyo Mpako, head of innovation and channel design at Standard Bank. “It is therefore important to note that social networking will become a central component of any services provided to this market in the future.”

The 32 percent of BlackBerry users kept that brand in the number one spot of phones used, ahead of Samsung’s 27 percent and Nokia’s 21 percent.

When asked for their brand preference regardless of affordability, one out of every two chose the Apple iPhone. Samsung came in second at 29 percent, and Sony in third place at 9 percent.

[email protected] Twitter: @ntsandvose

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