Journalism and Mass Communication, May-June 2019, Vol. 9, No.

3, 101-122
doi: 10.17265/2160-6579/2019.03.001
D DAVID PUBLISHING

Generation Z’s Smartphone and Social Media Usage: A Survey

Niaz Ahmed
Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA

This study examined the smartphone and social media usage among Generation Z. A survey was completed by a
non-random sample of 415 students at State University of New York in Oneonta during the academic year
2017-2018. The results revealed that almost all Gen Zers (99%) own a smartphone, and 98% of them use their
smartphones to connect to the Internet most of the time. More than half of Gen Zers spend nine hours or more in a
typical day using their smartphones, and nearly half of them spend 3-8 hours per day on their smartphones. With
regard to the use of social media, more than half of Gen Zers accessed various social media several times a day,
while nearly 1 in 5 admitted accessing social media every hour of the day. As for the amount of time devoted to
social media, nearly one-third of the students admitted using social media for 7-10 hours per day, and slightly less
than one-third of the students spent 5-6 hours per day on social media. With regard to Generation Z’s perception of
their addiction to smartphone and social media, 4 in 5 students admitted that they were spending an excessive
amount of time on the Internet, and two-thirds believed that they were spending too much time on social media.
Furthermore, 7 in 10 students admitted that they were addicted to the Internet, and nearly two-thirds believed they
were addicted to social media. These findings may have significant implications for counseling and intervention for
parents, educators, and policy makers.

Keywords: social media addiction, smartphone addiction, Internet addiction

The advent of the smartphone and social media has significantly transformed our lives in terms of how we
communicate and entertain ourselves. In recent years, smartphone and social media usage has grown
exponentially among the general public and specifically within the Generation Z known as “Gen Z” or “Gen
Zers” (Statista, 2015). The Generation Z is the demographic cohort born during the mid-1990s to mid-2000s
(roughly 13-24 years of age today) and has followed the millennials or Generation Y (Seemiller & Grace, 2016;
Wood, 2013). Generation Z is the first cohort to have smartphones, social media, and other technologies readily
available at a young age. In terms of the size of Gen Z population, current estimate indicates that about
one-third of world’s 7.7 billion people are Gen Zers (Miller & Lu, 2018). Furthermore, Gen Z commands $44
billion in buying power in the consumer market (Hutchinson, 2018).
While the advantages of the smartphone and social media are recognized, constant and excessive use may
have negative consequences for the users such as addictive usage, increased stress, false sense of online
connections, reduced face-to-face interactions, diminishing interpersonal skills, problematic family relations,
and lower self-esteem (Hawi & Samaha, 2016; Smith & Monica, 2016; Nazir & Samaha, 2016; Andreassen &
Pallesen, 2014; Bian & Leung, 2014; Hong & Chiu, 2012).

Niaz Ahmed, Dr., Professor Emeritus, Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA.
102 GENERATION Z’S SMARTPHONE AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE: A SURVEY

Although a significant amount of research has been done in the recent past about the use of smartphone
and social media among Generation X and Y, insufficient research exists about smartphone and social media
addiction among Generation Z. Since the digital world is changing rapidly every year, it is important to track its
usage and impacts on an ongoing basis for detecting any trends and correlations and for identifying significant
implications for counseling and intervention for parents, educators, and policy makers. The present study
attempts to contribute to the evolving knowledge by examining the implications of the addictive use of
smartphone and social media among Generation Z. It also explores important variables that remained
unexamined in past research.

Literature Review
Past studies have examined the extent and impact of smartphone and social media usage in the general
public as well as among the millennials. A survey (Lee, Sung, Song, Lee, Lee, Cho, Park, & Shin, 2016) of 490
adolescents found that 27% of them were in high risk of smartphone addiction, and showed significantly more
behavioral and emotional problems, lower self-esteem, and poor quality of communication with their parents. A
study by Nazir and Samaha in 2016 also revealed that addictive use of social media had a negative association
with self-esteem. Wu, Cheung, Ku, and Hung (2013) also found a correlation between daily usage of
smartphones and addictive symptoms towards social media. A study by Hong and Chiu (2012) revealed that
students who scored high on smartphone addiction showed more social extraversion, anxiety, and lower
self-esteem. An extensive review of literature by Kuss and Griffiths (2011) indicated that an excessive social
media use may lead to symptoms traditionally associated with substance-related addictions.
A 2014 study of 414 university students (Bian & Leung, 2014) identified five smartphone addiction
symptoms: disregard of harmful consequences, preoccupation, inability to control craving, productivity loss,
and feeling anxious and lost. The results showed that the higher one scored in loneliness, the higher the
likelihood one would be addicted to smartphone. A study of 1,000 Belgians by Wang, Ho, Chan, and Tse (2015)
found that compulsive users scored lower on emotional stability, conscientiousness, self-esteem, and higher on
loneliness and depressive feelings.
Several studies have found that many smartphone users developed addictions as a consequence of using
certain applications such as instant messaging, online gaming, and social networking through their mobile
phones (Lopez-Fernandez, Kuss, Griffiths, & Billieux, 2015; Billieux, Maurage, Lopez-Fernandez, Kuss, &
Griffiths, 2015; Kuss & Griffiths, 2012).
In terms of sociodemographic differences, past research revealed that among those addicted to social
media, females showed a higher prevalence of addictions and were more likely to experience anxiety and
depression symptoms as a negative consequence of social media use (Bragazzi & Del Puente, 2014; Caplan,
2003; Wang et al., 2015). In terms of age variation, past studies found that younger individuals were more
likely to develop addictive behavior with social media (Song, LaRose, Eastin, & Lin, 2004).

Methodology
A survey of college students was conducted to examine the smartphone and social media addiction among
Generation Z during the academic year 2017-2018. The survey was administered online and was completed by
a non-random sample of 415 students at State University of New York in Oneonta. This study poses the
following research question:
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What are the perceeptions of Geeneration Z abbout their add diction to smaartphone andd social mediaa? Are there
any statistically significcant differencces in terms of gender and age?

Results
With a completionn rate of 99% %, data were collected
c fromm a sample of
o 415 studennts at State University
U of
New York in Oneonta. The responsse rate was prredictably hig gh due to thee fact that thee students recceived extra
points for completing the
t survey as part of a claass requiremeent. Approxim mately 56% of the respon ndents were
females, annd 43% weree males. Aboout 63% of thhe subjects werew 18-20 years
y of age, and 27% off them were
21-25. In terms
t of race, about 54% of the responndents were white
w and 466% were non--white (Hispaanic, Black,
Asian, Native Americann, Mixed). Appproximatelyy 48% of the subjects
s weree freshman annd sophomorees, and 42%
were juniorrs and seniorss, while 10% were graduaate students.
How Does Generation Z Communicate?
As shhown in Tabble 1 and Fiigure 1, aboout 46% of the students indicated thhat they used mediated
interpersonnal communiccation or diggital communnication (via smartphone, social mediaa, email, textting, instant
messaging,, etc.) most often
o than facce-to-face coommunication n. Moreover, about 59% oof the studen
nts admitted
that the usee of social meedia had decrreased their faace-to-face co
ommunicationn (Figure 2).

Table 1
Comparisoon of Face-to--Face and Mediated
Me Interppersonal Com
mmunication
Frequeency and percent of
Types of com
mmunication
responndents

Figgure 1. Comparison of face-to--face and mediaated interpersonnal communicattion.

104 GENERA
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Figure 2. Have
H social meddia decreased faace-to-face com
mmunication?

In term
ms of gender variation, the results did not
n show any y statistically significant ddifference for most of the
dimensionss of this variiable. Both males
m and femmales used mediated
m interrpersonal commmunication more often
than face-tto-face commmunication. AsA shown inn Table 2, significant diff fference was found for th he response
option “onne-third of my
m communication is meediated interp personal com mmunication”” whereby more m female
students (33%) respondded in affirmaative than malle students (2
20%).

Table 2
Comparisoon of Face-to--Face and Mediated
Me Interppersonal Com
mmunication by Gender
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

As shhown in Tablee 3, in terms of age variaation, the resu

ults showed significant
s diifference for most of the
dimensionss of this variiable. More students
s in thhe age groupp 21-25 (64% %) indicated tthat they useed mediated
interpersonnal communication compaared to face--to-face comm munication most
m of the ttime. About 47%
4 of the
students inn the age grooup 18-20 revvealed that thhey used med diated interpersonal comm munication compared to
face-to-facce communicaation most off the time.
How Does Generation Z Use Smarrtphones?
Accorrding to survvey results, 99% of the sttudents had a functional smartphone,
s and about 98
8% of them
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used their smartphones

s to connect too the Internett most of the time (Table 4).
4 Data did nnot show any y significant
difference in terms of gender for mostm of the dimensions
d of
o this variabble. As show wn in Table 5,5 only one
dimension showed significant differeence wherebyy more male students
s usedd game consoles to access the Internet
compared tot female studdents.
As shhown in Tablee 6, in terms of age variaation, data rev vealed signifficant differennce for two dimensions.
d
More studeents in the oldder age groupps (21-25 andd 26+) used sm martphones to
t access the IInternet (66%% and 100%
respectivelly) most of the
t time thann students in the 18-20 ag ge group (599%). Howeveer, more stud dents in the
younger agge groups (18-20 and 21--25) used lapptops to acceess the Internnet most of tthe time (29% % and 20%
respectivelly) compared to older studdents (26+) who
w did not usse laptops to access
a the Intternet.

Table 3
Comparisoon of Face-to--Face and Mediated
Me Interppersonal Com
mmunication by Age
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 4
Devices Ussed to Connecct to the Interrnet Most of the
t Time
Types of devvices Frequencyy and percent off respondents
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Table 5
Devices Ussed to Connecct to the Interrnet Most of the
t Time by Gender
G
Gender Frequeency and percennt of respondennts

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 6
Devices Ussed to Connecct to the Interrnet Most of the
t Time by Age
A
Types of devvices Frequeency and percennt of respondennts

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

As shhown in Tablee 7, approxim mately 51% ofo the studentts spent nine hours or morre in a typicaal day using
their smarttphones, andd about 48% spent 3-8 hours h per dayy on their smmartphones. Data did nott show any
significant difference inn terms of gennder or age with
w regard to the amount of o time spent on smartpho ones (Tables
8 and 9).

Table 7
Amount off Time Spent inn a Typical Day
D Using thee Smartphonee
Amount of tiime Frequency andd percent of respondents
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Table 8
Amount off Time Spent inn a Typical Day
D Using thee Smartphonee by Gender
Gender Frequeency and percennt of respondennts

Table 9
Amount off Time Spent inn a Typical Day
D Using thee Smartphonee by Age
Age groups Frequuency and percent of respondeents

With regard to thee nature of sm martphone usaage, Table 10 0 shows that about 95% oof the studentts used their
smartphonees to make or receive phoone calls, 96% % used it to send
s or receivve text messaages, and 92%% used it to
send or recceive emails. About 80% used u their sm
martphones to o take, post, and
a view phootos and video os on social
media, andd to check thee news onlinee. Furthermorre, about 66% % of the studeents used theeir smartphonnes to watch
movies onlline, 97% useed it to play music,
m 9% ussed it to watcch TV online, and 75% ussed it for play ying games.
In additionn, about 40% used it for onnline purchassing, 29% useed it for accessing dating ssites, and 12% % used it to
search or apply
a for jobbs. One notabble finding revealed
r that 67% of the students useed their smarrtphones for
doing reseaarch for classs assignmentss.
The data
d did not show
s any siggnificant diffe
ference in term ms of gender for most off the dimensions of this
variable. As
A shown in Table 11, onnly three of the t above dim mensions shoowed significcant difference whereby
more male students usedd smartphonees (18%) to play p podcast compared
c to female
f studennts (8%), and
d 34% males
used their smartphones
s to access datting sites com
mpared to 25% % females. However,
H morre female studdents (15%)
used their smartphones
s to apply for jobs
j online coompared to males
m (8%).
In termms of age vaariation, data revealed signnificant differrences for fivve dimensionns as shown in
i Table 12.
More studeents in the ollder age grouups (21-25 annd 26+) used smartphoness to check thee news online (84% and
100% resppectively) thaan students inn the 18-20 agea group (75 5%). Howeveer, more studdents in the younger
y age
groups (18-20 and 21-25) used their smartphoness to apply for jobs online (15% ( and 8%
% respectivelyy) than older
students (226+) who did not use smarrtphones for this purpose at all. Furtheermore, moree students in the t younger
108 GENERA
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age groupss (18-20 and 21-25)

2 used thheir smartphoones to watchh TV online (11%
( and 9%
% respectively
y) than older
students (226+) who did not use smarrtphones for thhis purpose.

Table 10
Type of Activities Performed on Smaartphones
Types of activities Frequencyy and percent off respondents

Table 11
Types of Acctivities Perfo
formed on Smartphones byy Gender
Types of actiivities Frequencyy and percent off respondents
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Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 12
Types of Acctivities Perfo
formed on Smartphones byy Age
Types of actiivities Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.
110 GENERATION Z’S SMARTPHONE AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE: A SURVEY

How Does Generation Z Use Social Media?

The results revealed that Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are the most widely used social
media among Generation Z with majority of the respondents having multiple social media accounts. As shown
in Table 13, 93% of the students had an account on Facebook, 95% had an account on Snapchat, 88% had an
account on Twitter, and 58% had an account on Instagram. In addition, about 41% used YouTube while 15%
used Google Plus.

Figure 3. Most frequently used social media.

In terms of frequency of usage, 52% of the respondents indicated that they accessed various social media
several times a day, while 18% admitted accessing social media every hour of the day (Table 14).
As shown in Table 15, in terms of gender variation, significant difference was found for the response
option “about once a day” whereby more male students (33%) responded in affirmative than female students
(19%). Conversely, for the response option “every hour of the day” more female students (25%) responded in
affirmative than male students (9%).
In terms of age variation, the data showed significant differences for most of the dimensions. As shown in
Table 16, the younger students accessed the social media more often than the older students.
With regard to the amount of time devoted to social media, approximately 32% of the students
admitted using social media for 7-10 hours per day, 30% spent 5-6 hours per day, and 29% spent 1-2 hours a
day (Table 17).
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Table 13
Most Frequuently Used Social
S Media
Types of soccial media Frequencyy and percent off respondents

Table 14
Frequency of Social Meedia Usage
How often soocial media are used Frequencyy and percent off respondents

Table 15
Frequency of Social Meedia Usage byy Gender
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05, 95% confidence.

c
112 GENERA
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Table 16
Frequency of Social Meedia Usage byy Age
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 17
Amount off Time Spent on
o Social Meddia
Amount of tiime Frequenccy and percent oof respondents

In term
ms of genderr variation, thhe results shoowed significcant differencce for two dim
mensions. More females
(14%) usedd social meddia for 11 houurs or more per p day than males (0.56%). Conversely, more maale students
used (37%)) social media for 1-2 houurs per day thaan female (24 4%) students (Table 18).

Table 18
Amount off Time Spent on
o Social Meddia by Gendeer
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.
 GENERA
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In term
ms of age varriation, the daata showed siignificant diffference for tw
wo dimensionns. As shown in Table 19,
the youngeer students spent more time on social media
m than thee older studennts.

Table 19
Amount off Time Spent on
o Social Meddia by Age
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

With regard to theeir self-perceeption of adddictive behaviior, 79% of the

t students admitted thaat they were
spending tooo much tim me on the Inteernet, and 65% believed that
t they werre spending ttoo much tim
me on social
media (Figgures 10-11).. Furthermoree, about 70% % admitted th hat they were addicted too the Interneet, and 57%
thought theey were addiccted to social media (Figurres 12-13). As
A shown in Tables
T 20-23, there was no
o significant
gender diffference for thhese variabless.

Figgure 10. Spendiing too much tim

me on the Interrnet.
114 GENERATION Z’S SMARTPHONE AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE: A SURVEY

Figure 11. Spending too much time on social media.

Figure 12. Addicted to the Internet.

Figure 13. Addicted to social media.

 GENERA
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Table 20
Spending Too
T Much Tim
me Spent on Internet
I by Geender
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Table 21
Spending Too
T Much on Social Mediaa by Gender
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondents

Table 22
Perceived Addiction
A to Internet
I by Gender
G
Gender Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Table 23
Perceived Addiction
A to Social Mediaa by Gender
Gender Freqquency and perccent of responddents

In term
ms of age variation, a largeer percentage of younger sttudents admittted that they were spendin ng too much
time on thee Internet and social media,, and that theyy were addicted to the Interrnet and sociaal media (Tab
bles 24-27).
116 GENERA
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Table 24
Spending Too
T Much Tim
me on Interneet by Age
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 25
Spending Too
T Much Tim
me on Social Media
M by Agge
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 26
Perceived Addiction
A to Internet
I by Age
A
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of responddents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.
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Table 27
Perceived Addiction
A to Social Mediaa by Age
Age groups Freqquency and perccent of respondeents

Notes. *p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Whenn asked what their

t life wouuld be like wiithout the soccial media, 599% admitted tthat they wou
uld be bored,
38% wouldd be depresseed, 77% woulld be out of toouch, and 57% % would be lonely (Table 28). Furtherm more, in the
absence off the social media,
m 80% beelieved that thhey would bee more produuctive, and would commun nicate more
face-to-facce, 73% woulld do more exercise,
e 64%
% would play y more sportts, and 76% w would read more
m books
(Table 28).. As shown inn Table 29, thhere was no significant gen nder difference for most oof the dimensiions.
In term t younger students expressed more concerns abo
ms of age varriation, the daata revealed that out their life
without soccial media as compared too older studennts (Table 30)).
Whenn asked what their life woould be like without
w the Internet
I in geeneral, about 75% admitteed that they
would be bored,
b 54% would
w be deppressed, 61% would be ou a 42% wouuld be lonely (Table 31).
ut of touch, and
Furthermorre, in the abbsence of thee Internet, 800% believed that they woould be moree productive and would
communicaate more facee-to-face, 75% % would reaad more book ks, 74% woulld do more exxercise, and 63% would
play more sports (Tablee 31).

Table 28
Life Withouut Social Meddia
Frequenncy and percent of
Feelings andd activities
respondeents
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Table 29
Life Withouut Social Meddia by Gendeer
Gender Frequency and percent of respondents

Table 30
Life Withouut Social Meddia by Age
Age groups Frequency and percent of respondents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Table 31
Life Withouut Internet
Feelings andd activities Frequency aand percent of respondents
 GENERA
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In term
ms of genderr variation, no
n significant difference wasw found forr most of thee dimensions (Table 34).
However, in i terms of age
a variation,, data revealeed that young ger students expressed
e moore concerns about their
life withouut the Internett as comparedd to older studdents (Table 35).
3

Table 34
Life Withouut Internet byy Gender
Feelings andd activities F
Frequency and percent of resppondents

Table 35
Life Withouut Internet byy Age
Age groups Frequenncy and percent of respondents

Notes. * p = 0.05,
0 95% conffidence.

Discussion and Con

nclusions
This study
s examined the smartpphone and soccial media ussage among Generation
G Z.
The results
r revealled that almoost all Gen Zers
Z (99%) own a smarttphone, and 98% of them m use their
smartphonees to connectt to the Internnet most of thhe time. Moree than half off Gen Zers sppend nine hou urs or more
in a typicall day using thheir smartphoones, and nearly half of theem spend 3-88 hours per daay on their sm
martphones.
The data did
d not show any significaant differencee in terms off gender or age a groups, w which indicatees that both
males and females, andd younger as well as oldeer students arre spending a significant aamount of tim me on their
smartphonees on a daily basis.
The reesults also shhowed that neearly half of Gen
G Zers usee mediated interpersonal ccommunicatio on or digital
communicaation (via sm martphone, social
s mediaa, email, texxting, instantt messaging, etc.) most often than
face-to-facce communicaation. Moreover, about thhree-fifths adm mitted that thhe use of social media hadd decreased
their face-tto-face comm munication. Both
B males annd females used
u mediatedd interpersonnal communiccation more
120 GENERATION Z’S SMARTPHONE AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE: A SURVEY

often than face-to-face communication. However, younger students used mediated interpersonal
communication more often as compared to older students.
In terms of the nature of smartphone usage, one notable finding reveals that more than two-thirds of Gen
Zers use their smartphones for doing research for class assignments. Other usage of smartphones included
making phone calls, text messaging, emailing, checking the news, posting or viewing photos and videos on
social media, watching TV and movies online, playing music and games, purchasing online, accessing dating
sites, and searching and applying for jobs. With regard to the use of social media, the results revealed that
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are the most widely used social media among Generation Z with
majority of them having multiple social media accounts. In terms of frequency of usage, more than half of Gen
Zers accessed various social media several times a day, while nearly 1 in 5 admitted accessing social media
every hour of the day. In terms of gender variation, data showed that more female students accessed the social
media every hour of the day compared to males. As for age variation, the findings revealed that the younger
students accessed the social media more often than the older students. With regard to the amount of time
devoted to social media, nearly one-third of the students admitted using social media for 7-10 hours per day,
and slightly less than one-third of the students spent 5-6 hours per day on social media. There were no
significant differences in terms of gender for most of the dimensions. However, a greater percentage of younger
students spent more time on social media than older students.
As for Generation Z’s perception of their addiction to smartphone and social media, 4 in 5 students
admitted that they were spending an excessive amount of time on the Internet, and two-thirds believed that they
were spending too much time on social media. Furthermore, 7 in 10 students admitted that they were addicted
to the Internet, and nearly two-thirds believed they were addicted to social media. Although there was no
significant gender difference, younger students were more likely to admit that they were spending too much
time on the Internet and social media, and that they were addicted to the Internet and social media.
When asked what their life would be like without the social media, roughly 6 in 10 students admitted that
they would be bored and lonely, 4 in 10 would be depressed, and 8 in 10 would be out of touch. Furthermore,
in the absence of the Internet, about 8 in 10 believed that they would be more productive and would
communicate more face-to-face, 7 in 10 would read more books and would do more exercise, and 6 in 10
would play more sports. Younger students expressed more concerns about their life without the Internet and
social media as compared to older students. There was no significant gender difference for this variable.
The aforementioned discussion of data analysis indicates that although there are some positive uses, it
appears that Generation Zers are spending an excessive amount of time on their smartphones and social media,
and that most of them are addicted to their smartphones and social media. These findings may have significant
implications for counseling and intervention for parents, educators, and policy makers. Furthermore, the results
may also have significance for marketers, advertisers, mass media, and apps creators who target the Gen Z with
their products, services, and contents, as majority of Gen Zers use their smartphones and social media for
networking, online purchasing, research, news consumption, and entertainment.
This research was based on a non-random sample and focused on Generation Z, and thereby limiting the
ability to generalize the results to the larger population. Future research with a random sample could focus on
additional variables and dimensions relating to addictive usage of smartphone and social media, and its
implications for the personal, educational, and professional lives of all demographics.
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