Mobile Devices and Mobile Apps Use among Indonesian College Students

Abstract

This article adds more insights into the previous study about the use of mobile apps on smartphones and tablets among Indonesian college students based on a survey of undergraduate students at one private university in Indonesia. Data analysis includes two-sample tests of proportion and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The findings confirm social media as not only the most frequently used app category, but also with the highest level of engagement. While most students use their mobile device mostly for social media, it is regular and heavy use of educational apps that are more closely tied to spending more than five hours per day on mobile device whereas more frequent mobile gaming is associated to more hours spent on mobile device. Students from IT major were found to be an anomaly among other STEMM disciplines. Not only they are more likely to spend more hours on their mobile device, but also, they tend to be more socially active, at least digitally and not necessarily physically in daily life. The findings in this study give a better understanding of how Indonesian students use their mobile device that was already uncovered in the previous study by answering some of the remaining questions.