In the time it took you to read this sentence, 43 Americans made the switch to smartphones.
According to a recent study by eMarketer, college students are among those converting to smartphones. Today, roughly two-thirds of students walk college campuses knowing that whatever information they need is accessible through their smartphone.
By the time Ohio University’s class of 2016 graduates, about 90 percent of college students in the country will own a smartphone, according to the study.
Whether students at OU are waiting in line for coffee at the Front Room, riding an escalator in Baker University Center or walking to class, many students sport earbuds and frequently glance down at their touchscreens to check emails, scroll through Twitter feeds or text their friends.
Allen Henry, a senior studying broadcast news, spent his Friday, the day the iPhone 5 was released, calling stores looking for the phone. He drove 20 miles to pick one up the next day.
“It is a handy tool, and nowadays, almost everyone has a smartphone,” Henry said. “I definitely think those who haven’t made the switch should upgrade.”
Despite the many students jumping on the smartphone bandwagon, some at OU have yet to cross over to a smartphone, including Debi Segal, a senior studying communication sciences and disorders, who uses a LG Env2.
“I never saw much of a need for a smartphone,” Segal said. “I think a lot of people spend too much time on their smartphones, especially in conversation. I feel like this has taken away from face-to-face conversations, because some people check their Facebook on their smartphones while they are at dinner or hanging out with their friends.”
During this year’s Bobcat Student Orientation, Wendy Merb-Brown, director of learning community programs, conducted a survey session of about 3,000 incoming OU freshmen.
Results showed that 70 percent of students planned to bring a smartphone and laptop with them to college.
Angie Cordell, a junior studying political science, doesn’t have a smartphone and hardly ever takes out her laptop, she said.
“I think it would be worth it and nice to have a smartphone so I could check my email when I am out, but I can’t afford it,” Cordell said. “I hate my dumbphone. The worst part about it is when people with iPhones will send group messages, then every message comes as a picture message, and I receive like 20 picture messages all at once, and it freezes my phone up.”
This year, it is expected that in the U.S., smartphone users will spend 23 billion minutes each month on the mobile web, according to the eMarketer report.
bc822010@ohiou.edu
