Motives for SMS Use

O. Peters; Johan Almekinders; Ruud van Buren; Roy Snippers; Jacqueline Wessels

Motives for SMS Use

O. Peters, Johan Almekinders, Ruud van Buren, Roy Snippers, Jacqueline Wessels

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Abstract

This study was designed to identify, from a uses-and-gratifications point of view, the motives that young people in the age of 12 to 25 have for using SMS. The study also aimed to assess whether these SMS motives are related to age, gender, current education, mobile phone experience, SMS experience and SMS use. We located four types of motives for using SMS: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, and efficiency (in time). Immediate access and social interaction were most salient and more often endorsed by young people than entertainment and efficiency (in time). The results of this study show that the most salient reason for young people in the age of 12 to 25 to use SMS is the convenience of being able to contact and interact with their peers whenever they want and wherever they are. To distinguish heavy SMS users from moderate SMS users, the following significant predictors were established: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, mobile phone use, and current education. A remarkable finding from our study is that apparently, adolescents (age 12 to 18) use SMS more often for intrinsic or social use, like entertainment and social interaction, than young adults (age 18 to 25), who use SMS more often for instrumental or task-oriented use, like efficiency (in time). Another interesting finding was that although male and female users do not differ with respect to the number of messages sent, female users are apparently more enthusiastic about using SMS as a means of communication than male users.

Original language	Undefined
Number of pages	18
Publication status	Published - May 2003
Event	53rd Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, ICA 2003: Communication in Borderlands - San Diego, CA, San Diego, United States Duration: 23 May 2003 → 27 May 2003 Conference number: 53

Conference

Conference	53rd Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, ICA 2003
Abbreviated title	ICA
Country/Territory	United States
City	San Diego
Period	23/05/03 → 27/05/03
Other	May 23-27, 2003

Keywords

IR-59780

Access to Document

Peters03motives

Cite this

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title = "Motives for SMS Use",

abstract = "This study was designed to identify, from a uses-and-gratifications point of view, the motives that young people in the age of 12 to 25 have for using SMS. The study also aimed to assess whether these SMS motives are related to age, gender, current education, mobile phone experience, SMS experience and SMS use. We located four types of motives for using SMS: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, and efficiency (in time). Immediate access and social interaction were most salient and more often endorsed by young people than entertainment and efficiency (in time). The results of this study show that the most salient reason for young people in the age of 12 to 25 to use SMS is the convenience of being able to contact and interact with their peers whenever they want and wherever they are. To distinguish heavy SMS users from moderate SMS users, the following significant predictors were established: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, mobile phone use, and current education. A remarkable finding from our study is that apparently, adolescents (age 12 to 18) use SMS more often for intrinsic or social use, like entertainment and social interaction, than young adults (age 18 to 25), who use SMS more often for instrumental or task-oriented use, like efficiency (in time). Another interesting finding was that although male and female users do not differ with respect to the number of messages sent, female users are apparently more enthusiastic about using SMS as a means of communication than male users.",

keywords = "IR-59780",

author = "O. Peters and Johan Almekinders and {van Buren}, Ruud and Roy Snippers and Jacqueline Wessels",

year = "2003",

month = may,

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note = "53rd Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, ICA 2003 ; Conference date: 23-05-2003 Through 27-05-2003",

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TY - CONF

T1 - Motives for SMS Use

AU - Peters, O.

AU - Almekinders, Johan

AU - van Buren, Ruud

AU - Snippers, Roy

AU - Wessels, Jacqueline

N1 - Conference code: 53

PY - 2003/5

Y1 - 2003/5

N2 - This study was designed to identify, from a uses-and-gratifications point of view, the motives that young people in the age of 12 to 25 have for using SMS. The study also aimed to assess whether these SMS motives are related to age, gender, current education, mobile phone experience, SMS experience and SMS use. We located four types of motives for using SMS: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, and efficiency (in time). Immediate access and social interaction were most salient and more often endorsed by young people than entertainment and efficiency (in time). The results of this study show that the most salient reason for young people in the age of 12 to 25 to use SMS is the convenience of being able to contact and interact with their peers whenever they want and wherever they are. To distinguish heavy SMS users from moderate SMS users, the following significant predictors were established: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, mobile phone use, and current education. A remarkable finding from our study is that apparently, adolescents (age 12 to 18) use SMS more often for intrinsic or social use, like entertainment and social interaction, than young adults (age 18 to 25), who use SMS more often for instrumental or task-oriented use, like efficiency (in time). Another interesting finding was that although male and female users do not differ with respect to the number of messages sent, female users are apparently more enthusiastic about using SMS as a means of communication than male users.

AB - This study was designed to identify, from a uses-and-gratifications point of view, the motives that young people in the age of 12 to 25 have for using SMS. The study also aimed to assess whether these SMS motives are related to age, gender, current education, mobile phone experience, SMS experience and SMS use. We located four types of motives for using SMS: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, and efficiency (in time). Immediate access and social interaction were most salient and more often endorsed by young people than entertainment and efficiency (in time). The results of this study show that the most salient reason for young people in the age of 12 to 25 to use SMS is the convenience of being able to contact and interact with their peers whenever they want and wherever they are. To distinguish heavy SMS users from moderate SMS users, the following significant predictors were established: entertainment, social interaction, immediate access, mobile phone use, and current education. A remarkable finding from our study is that apparently, adolescents (age 12 to 18) use SMS more often for intrinsic or social use, like entertainment and social interaction, than young adults (age 18 to 25), who use SMS more often for instrumental or task-oriented use, like efficiency (in time). Another interesting finding was that although male and female users do not differ with respect to the number of messages sent, female users are apparently more enthusiastic about using SMS as a means of communication than male users.

KW - IR-59780

M3 - Paper

T2 - 53rd Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, ICA 2003

Y2 - 23 May 2003 through 27 May 2003

ER -