Generation Y versus Generation X: Differences in Smartphone Adaptation

Smartphones are becoming ubiquitous and are owned by youngsters and oldsters alike. However, how many of them really use the "smart" functions of the mobile phone, such as mobile Internet services? Is there a generation gap in the adaptation to smartphone applications? This preliminary study suggests a novel perspective on adoption, by defining smartphone adoption as the free choice of its owners to use it when there is an alternative familiar technology available. Particularly, we investigated the proclivity of smartphone owners to use mobile Internet services when they have a personal computer available nearby. We examined how this tendency was influenced by the period of ownership of the smartphone. Adaptation to new technologies may take time. However, this aspect has not been much studied in the context of smartphones. Our main findings suggest that generation Y's tendency to use mobile Internet services when having a personal computer available nearby increases the longer they possess the smartphone. In contrast, there is no significant impact of the period of ownership on generation X's tendency to use mobile Internet services in such situation. We discuss the implications and suggest directions for further research.