Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger

Abstract

WhatsApp is a popular mobile application for providing instant messaging service in smartphones. It uses Internet services to communicate different type of text and multimedia messages between users or groups. Its users worldwide have crossed the figure of one billion in February 2016. The effect of WhatsApp on our lives, culture, and society keeps on increasing. It is also becoming popular tool for marketing in businesses and publicity in politics. This growth has also drawn the attention of researchers to understand the implications and effect of WhatsApp on its user’s social and personal life. We investigated the usage and effect of WhatsApp in the regions of Northern India. We performed an internet based survey using open-source Lime survey software and obtained responses. Total 460 responses had been received in which only 136 responses were considered for analysis those have completed all questions and having more than 18 years of age. The users in India made a slow shift from all social networking sites to WhatsApp in a quick span of time. This survey results show that there is a significant impact of WhatsApp on its users. Around 66% of WhatsApp users believe that WhatsApp has improved their relationship with friends. More than 63% of its users think it is not harmful for them. There are several other analyses presented in this paper based on age-groups and gender of WhatsApp users. This survey analysis may be useful for academicians and researchers for understanding the behavior of WhatsApp users and reflect the possibility of using WhatsApp in education, social services and governance.