The smartphone is the most personal of all devices and for many of its users has long become the most important access to the internet. The usage is characterized by many short and targeted accesses. Many of these so-called mobile moments are context-related and therefore fundamentally different from the stationary online usage. As the smartphone accompanies its user throughout the day, it is always within reach and becomes a personal assistant for him. It provides access to a variety of apps that take on everyday functions and interact with the increasingly connected world.
1 Key factors in the increased use of social media
Four key factors explain the abrupt change in behavior and the resulting increase in Web 2.0 offerings. On the one hand, two technical changes offer new possibilities. A better availability of technologies provides the basic prerequisite for user integration. The second technical factor is the improved infrastructure, ie the proliferation of internet broadband access, which enables the rapid transmission of videos and photos. On the other hand, a fundamentally changed user behavior has been identified, since many can be technically more adept at growing up in the computer and internet age. Another factor is mobile internet use (Bruhn 2014, p. 1038).
1.1 Changing needs and usage behavior
In terms of the media, social media has a significant impact on the communication model of traditional mass media. Conventional mass communication is characterized by a clear separation between communicator and recipient (Rothe 2006, p. 80). A role change is not provided. However, with the increasing popularity of the internet and the establishment of social media, the strict distribution of roles between the sender and the recipient has changed: previously separate communication technologies, such as language, text, video and audio, have merged. On the one hand, this leads to a dissolution of the boundaries between mass and individual communication and, on the other hand, to an interconnectedness of communication roles between communicator and recipient. Users are now able to create and circulate their own content. So, you can take on the station role that has always held the medium itself. This qualifies the transmitter-receiver model of the classical mass media. Above all, the elements of interaction and participation are now in the foreground of communication and are expected by customers.
Web 2.0 and social media allow the once passive recipient to create his own world by generating media content himself. These content, known as user-generated content, is a reflection of society and often in competition with the traditional mass media. User-generated content can be divided by definition into the following criteria (Michelis 2009):
• Voluntary: The process of content creation must take place outside professional routines and be intrinsically motivated – that is, voluntarily, without outside incentives and out of work itself.
• Creativity: A certain amount of creative self-achievement and creativeness should characterize the work result.
• Publicity: The work results must be accessible to the public.
User-generated content means that the visitors to a platform are involved in building the content to a very substantial extent. Many people who do not or only briefly know each other work on common statements, structures and appearances (Ebersbach, Glaser and Heigl 2011, p. 206). The combination of user-generated content and the direct response options within social media makes many-to-many communication possible for the first time. The need for user-generated content is increasing dynamically. The mutual active exchange of information is becoming more and more important (Bruhn 2014, p. 1038).
1.2 Improved availability of technologies
This means, for example, web service APIs, AJAX, RSS or the basic technologies for creating blogs and wikis that make it easier to use the offers. APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are interfaces for application programming and therefore one of the technical foundations of Web 2.0. They ensure that a website can independently get content from another page. These technologies enable faster and easier use of new internet offerings by consumers and providers (Bruhn 2014, p. 1038).
1.3 Technical infrastructure
The widespread and cost-effective availability of broadband internet access makes this type of communication accessible to a broad segment of the population (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010, p. 60). The pioneers of the web partly failed because the framework conditions for the web were not right until the beginning of the new millennium. Above all, this affected the broad masses, ie the customers and employees of a company, since the first DSL connections were reserved primarily for companies and organizations. Companies could provide content such as elaborate catalogs in PDF format or videos, but customers could only retrieve them via their analog modem at 56 kilobits per second. Since the analog ports were billed based on time or amount of data, the end user considered whether to download large files (Hettler 2010, p. 3). Only through the increased data transfer rates, many web applications and thus also the wide field of social media make sense to use. With the advent of DSL and affordable rates, the web has become accessible to the masses. The internet usage costs have also dropped significantly over time and have thus increased the attractiveness of the Web in the eyes of users (Bruhn 2014, p. 1038). Another driver for Web 2.0 is the sharp drop in storage media prices. All accumulating data must be stored. The ever-increasing volumes of hard drives at ever lower prices are particularly important for vendors such as YouTube, as they can work with high and fast storage volumes on a low-cost basis and offer free storage space to the user (de Buhr and Tweraser 2010, p. 73). Falling prices for storage have favored the high and growing penetration of digital cameras. Almost ten years ago, analogue video cameras were the standard. These not only had the disadvantage that they are big and heavy, but also the video editing was reserved only for experts. Today, modern smartphones already have integrated cameras that can record videos in HD quality. Applications for image editing can be downloaded directly to the phone. Modern digital cameras offer a video function and also better lenses than a smartphone camera. With these means of production, every user can become a producer and create high-quality content himself (de Buhr and Tweraser 2010, p. 73).
1.4 Mobile internet use
A trend that has become increasingly important in recent years is mobile internet use (Bruhn 2014, p. 1039). Mobile internet means the provision of an internet connection on mobile devices. Only very few consumers surf exclusively on a fixed PC at home in the network. If they do not use a laptop, they are still almost all mobile. Meanwhile, almost every mobile phone owner has a smartphone – and surfs mobile on the net. Tablets are finding their way into the living rooms and establishing themselves as work equipment and entertainment medium (Wiedemann and Noack 2015, p. 236). The increasing proliferation of mobile, internet-enabled devices – from laptops to tablet PCs and smartphones to smartwatches – is an important driver of mobile marketing (Kreutzer, Rumler and Wille-Baumkauff 2015, p. 231). What is important in all these developments is that the increasing use of mobile devices, such as tablet PCs and smartphones, does not replace access to the internet at home, but rather enables new usage situations (Kreutzer 2014, p. 4).
2 Possibilities of mobile internet use
Mobile is more than just a device class, a way of using it, or a form of access, it is a paradigm shift in internet usage and the next step in evolution in digital evolution. The smartphone has freed the internet from the computer room and carried it out into the physical world. But not only the smartphone, but also the tablet and the notebook can be used mobile. It should be noted, however, that smartphone and tablet technically have much in common, but are used by their users fundamentally different. Laptop and stationary PC are usually used when we work or want to deal with us without time pressure. When it comes to acute information search, however, the smartphone turns out to be increasingly the medium of choice. While the smartphone is used as a constant and personal companion in everyday life, the tablet is more likely to be used in situations comparable to laptop use, for example on the sofa or while traveling by train (Rieber 2017, p. 2). In this increasingly networked world, the smartphone plays a key role for its users. It serves as an identification, as a data collector and as a control unit and enables a two-way interaction between the user and his networked environment.
In addition to smartphones, tablets and laptops, objects such as heaters, clocks and cars are also increasingly using digital components with WiFi, Bluetooth or mobile SIM cards. This allows them to exchange information with other objects to provide smart all-in-one solutions. This new reality is referred to as the internet of things and represents another step in the evolution of digital transformation. While the internet has been primarily used by end users, it now becomes the infrastructure for a connected world (Rieber 2017, p. 18). An example for the internet of things is the fitness arm band. Fitness bracelets are equipped with sensors that collect data such as the pulse rate or meters that have been run for applications on the smartphone.
Applications or short apps are an integral part of our current understanding of smartphones. In contrast to websites that are based on the HTML standard and can theoretically be displayed on every device via browsers, mobile apps must be developed specifically for the respective operating system of the smartphone. Apps have access to almost all functions of the device and allow an optimized user experience for each operating system (Rieber 2017, p. 8). The main advantage of an app is that it works even without an active internet connection, if no current data is needed for operation. Although apps, just like a program on a PC, are functional even without an active internet connection, today many apps require at least occasionally an internet connection, whether via WLAN, UMTS or LTE. There are now free Wi-Fi accesses in many public places, and the prices of internet flat rates for mobile phones have become very affordable in recent years. It could be formulated slovenly: Today the mobile internet is (almost) everywhere (Lammenett 2017, p. 399).
The alternative to an app is a web-based internet application that runs in the browser of the smartphone. As a rule, every smartphone has a preinstalled browser. The user only has to enter the URL (internet address) of the application. Of course, this requires a permanent internet connection. In contrast to a “native” app, a web-based internet application must be fully loaded at the moment of the call via an active internet connection, which is a disadvantage if the connection is poor (Lammenett 2017, p. 400).
3 Application area of the mobile internet
Most online activities, which are carried out at a very high frequency, have been at the core of internet use for many years. These include key activities such as sending and receiving e-mails, as well as using instant messaging services. In the category information search, the use of search engines like Google comes first. The following is an overview of the most common online activities are given. Sending and receiving e-mails – e-mail programs are programs used to receive, read, write and send e-mails. The ease of use has made e-mail a global standard in electronic communications. E-mail providers offer their own apps to retrieve the e-mails.
Use of search engines – search engines are the central point of contact for all information seekers on the internet. Technically, search engines are programs that search the internet based on a user’s search query and display the corresponding hits in a list. General search engines are suitable for searching the entire internet. After entering a search term, a search engine will provide a list of references to potentially relevant documents, usually with a title and a short excerpt from the document. Well-known search engines like Google offer apps that the user can put on the home screen.
Online banking – online banking describes the processing of banking transactions via the Internet. Banks offer websites or portals where you can manage your checking account online. Some banks also offer special online banking programs. In this case, the user must install the appropriate program on his computer. Managing the account from the comfort of your own home is only possible through the program. For most banks, online banking is handled via the normal internet browser. Simply go to the website of the house bank and register for online banking. Modern browser-based internet banking systems are characterized by portal functions, accessibility, various security mechanisms, notification options, mobile TAN procedures and freely selectable login names.
Reading online news – an online newspaper is an online publication of a newspaper published on the World Wide Web. Internet newspapers are often linked to a print newspaper, but usually have their own editorial staff. Some articles will only appear in one of the two versions or in different versions. In contrast to print newspapers, online newspapers are able to supplement their articles with multimedia content (eg video and audio contributions). There are also various interactive options such as searchability and comment ability, but also techniques for internal and external networking of articles as well as permanent updatability. Other advantages include that online newspapers with regionally limited content, unlike local newspapers, are not subject to any restrictions and are available worldwide.
Online shopping/price comparisons – online shopping is already part of everyday life for most people. Actually, the term “online shop” does not mean anything other than electronic commerce. Instead of selling goods in a retail store, it is offered on the internet in specially designed shop systems. On platforms such as amazon, interested parties can conveniently buy goods at the click of a mouse and pay via payment systems such as paypal. Often, online shops are also used for price comparisons.
Instant messaging (eg WhatsApp) – instant messaging makes it possible to communicate with other participants online in real time using a software called instant messenger. Short text messages are sent via a server to the recipient, to which he can respond immediately. This way you can also exchange files. Most instant messenger programs display which statuses (online, not available, absent, do not disturb, offline, etc.) the communication partners currently have.
Social media (eg Facebook) – social media communication takes place on online-based platforms and marks both the communication social media users and their interconnectedness. The social exchange between the users takes place on the social media platforms. Social media enable the storage, processing and transmission of information of all kinds (text, image, moving image, language), regardless of location, time and space, between individuals who are in any way related to one another. They thus realize the connection and networking of these individuals to a group and give each group member the opportunity to actively shape the exchange process.
Watching videos – an online video is a movie that can be viewed in digitized form on a web page. Search engines, video sharing platforms, and social networks can give online videos a huge reach. Users can create their own profiles on the internet video portal and upload their own video clips with a description (short text, tags). Other users can rate and comment on them. The descriptive tags of the videos allow the user to watch similar clips after the end of a video.
Online music services – an online music service, or music portal, is an online service that allows users to download songs or stream them.
Play online games – online games are computer games played online over the internet. There are browser-based online games that rely on pure HTML code or require additional browser plug-ins or an app.
4 Survey
As described in the beginning, the study is based on the question of how internet usage looks in everyday life. The studies were conducted in January 2018 using an online questionnaire. The target group were internet users of all ages who were invited to participate via social media. In addition to the overall evaluation, the evaluation also includes the results of the subgroups ’14-39 years’ and ‘over 40 years’. Here it becomes clear how differently the mobile internet is used.
Interview participants (n): 117
Survey: online questionnaire
Period of investigation: January 2018
The first question is to clarify which media are generally used for information gathering.
Figure 1: Which of the following media do you use (multiple answers possible)?
Source: Author
The most widely used digital device is the smartphone with a share of 91,45 percent. The laptop ranks second with 71,79 percent, closely followed by the tablet with 58,97 percent. Nearly 30 percent use a smart TV, with which they can stream programs directly from the internet. Wearables are with 12,82 percent still a marginal phenomenon.
There is a significant difference in the use of the daily newspaper. Here, 62,96 percent of over-40s face 33,33 percent of 14-39-year-old. When using the smartphone, there are only marginal differences with 95,24 percent in the younger to 87,04 percent in the older group. When using laptops, both groups are on the same level.
Figure 2: How often do you use mobile devices to go online?
Source: Author
The mobile devices accompany most of the interviewees through everyday life. If you own a smartphone or tablet, you usually use it intensively. 93,16 percent of respondents use their mobile devices several times a day to access the internet. Another 2,56 percent go online once a day.
When comparing age groups, it is noticeable that 14-39-year-olds use the mobile internet one hundred percent several times a day. The age group over 40 years uses it only to 85,14 percent several times a day.
Figure 3: Which of the following internet activities you practice at least occasionally (multiple answers possible)?
Source: Author
The spectrum of internet applications used is very broad and ranges from pure information applications to transactions such as shopping or online banking. Frequently used activities with digital terminals are in particular the writing and sending of e-mails (92,31 percent), the use of search engines (87,18 percent), instant messaging (80,34 percent) and online shopping (77,78 percent).
In contrast to the stationary use of the internet, users in the mobile internet use little video (49,57 percent) and music services (46,86 percent). Online games (20,51 percent) plays only one in five.
In comparing of the two groups, it is noticeable that especially the use of social networks and video streaming are significantly different. The group of 14-39-year-old uses these two services much more often. When using the other services, it is noticeable that they are used more by the younger group. The exception here is the retrieval of e-mails. Here, the older group retains the upper hand.
5 Summary
Due to the sample size of 117 participants, the survey is not representative. But it gives an insight into the daily use of the mobile internet. Trends are clearly visible. A general trend can be observed and best described on the basis of the smartphone: Numerous services that had nothing to do with each other some time ago, had their own functional logics and thus always forced the user to a certain learning performance, are today united in small devices we all carry in our pants pocket. The mobile internet provides us with information anytime, anywhere. It is about internet use, which does not take place at home on the home PC or on the laptop in a company, but is used on the go, especially through internet-enabled mobile phones, smartphones and tablets. Mobile broadband usage has been growing steadily since the introduction of smartphones. The mobile internet is almost self-evident today and increasingly integrated into our everyday lives. Frequently used activities with digital terminals are in particular the writing and sending of e-mails, the use of search engines and online shopping and instant messaging. The mobile devices accompany most of the interviewees through everyday life. If you own a smartphone or tablet, you usually use it intensively. The majority of respondents use their mobile devices several times a day to access the internet. The most common digital device is the smartphone. The laptop is in second place, closely followed by the tablet. One third of the respondents use a smart TV that allows them to stream programs directly from the internet. Wearables are still a marginal phenomenon.
But the smartphone is not the only relevant device: Even radios, smart TVs and laptops are widespread. Media usage on the internet is an attractive option, but only one among many. Media are still used to a considerable extent via the classic channels that are deeply rooted in people’s everyday lives. The laptop ranks second behind the smartphone as a digital device, closely followed by the tablet. A standard TV uses 82,61 percent, and just under 30 percent use a smart TV, with which they can stream programs directly from the internet. The radio still uses 75,65 percent of respondents.
Of course, the sustainability of a company depends on a whole range of different conditions. One of the biggest challenges is the digital transformation. In structural change towards information and network economics, traditional means of communication must be questioned. This is especially true because the “Millennials” are advancing both as employees and as customers. They were born in the period from about 1980 to 2000. This generation is also called “Generation Y” and is considered well educated, often with a college degree. It is characterized by a technophile lifestyle. In particular, it is the first generation to have grown up in an environment of the internet and mobile communications. They use the mobile internet one hundred percent several times a day. At the same times they use less the print media and the regular television program. This requires a new, digital approach to this customer group.
Literatúra/List of References
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[2] de Buhr, Th. and Tweraser, S., 2010. My Time is Prime Time. In: Beißwenger, A. (Ed.). YouTube und seine Kinder. Wie Online-Video, Web TV und Social Media die Kommunikation von Marken, Medien und Menschen revolutionieren, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2010, p. 69-91. ISBN 978-3-8329-5241-9.
[3] Ebersbach, A., Glaser, M. and Heigl, R., 2011. Social Web. Konstanz: UVK, 2011. ISBN 978-3-8252-3065-4.
[4] Hettler, U., 2010. Social Media Marketing – Marketing mit Blogs. Sozialen Netzwerken und weiteren Anwendungen des Web 2.0. München: De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2010. ISBN 978-3486591156.
[5] Kaplan, M. and Haenlein, M., 2010. Users of the World, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. In: Business Horizons. 2010, 53(1), p. 59-68. ISSN 0007-6813.
[6] Koch, W. and Frees, B., 2016. Dynamische Entwicklung bei mobiler Internetnutzung sowie Audios und Videos. In: Media Perspektiven. 2016, 9, pp. 418-437. ISSN 0170-1754. [online]. [cit. 2017-09-11]. Available at: <http://www.ard-zdf-onlinestudie.de/fileadmin/Onlinestudie_2016/0916_Koch_Frees.pdf>
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Kľúčové slová/Key Words
social media marketing, social networks, Web 2.0, mobile internet, Millennials, Generation Y
marketing sociálnych médií, sociálne siete, Web 2.0, mobilný internet, mileniáni, generácia Y
JEL klasifikácia/JEL Classification
M30
Résumé
Každodenné používanie internetu. Ako koncoví užívatelia používajú mobilný internet?
Smartfón je najosobnejší zo všetkých zariadení a pre mnohých jeho používateľov sa už dlho stáva najdôležitejším prístupom na internet. Použitie je charakterizované množstvom krátkych a cielených prístupov. Mnohé z takzvaných mobilných momentov súvisia s kontextom a preto sa zásadne odlišujú od stacionárneho online prístupu. Keďže smartfón sprevádza svojho používateľa po celý deň, je vždy v dosahu a stáva sa pre neho osobným asistentom. Poskytuje prístup k rôznym aplikáciám, ktoré preberajú každodenné funkcie a komunikujú s čoraz viac prepojeným svetom.
Recenzované/Reviewed
8. marec 2018 / 25. marec 2018
