By
I'm Keilan, the tech-fluent teenage son of Integrity's leader. Last year, I had the honor of writing a guest blog post for the website. The topic of that article was how I use technology, such as my phone, on a regular basis for the purpose of communication. Now, I will discuss how I use my phone on a regular basis for the purpose of entertainment, and how my friends do the same.
I sent out a survey to a small group of my friends, who are all fourteen years old like me. I received twelve responses with interesting results. The survey consisted of seven questions about phones and apps. The first question was... What kind of phone do you use? Eleven people said “iPhone” while only one said “Android.” This may help frame the rest of my findings.
The next question was... How many hours do you spend on your phone daily? The results were varied, but the two most popular answers were “1-2 hours” and “2-3 hours”. That’s a large fraction of somebody’s day to be spent on a digital device. For somebody to spend that much time, they must remain entertained. So what apps stop them from getting bored on their phones?
Question 3 asked... What app do you use the most frequently Question 4 asked... What app do you use the second most frequently? The survey-takers could not list apps native to the phone, such as Camera or Messages. The most popular answer was “Instagram”. It’s a widely-used social media app that allows users to create and customize their own page/account. They can then edit and post photos or videos for their followers to view. Many pages have themes. I follow at least a dozen superhero-themed Instagram pages. They post about all the latest superhero comics and movies. Other people I know follow accounts that are based on sports, fashion, etc. Instagram is all about creating and viewing whatever you enjoy.
Another popular answer was YouTube. I have a lot of experience with the YouTube website, but very little with the mobile app. I know that the basics are the same; the app allows you to watch videos of all sorts, and subscribe to different video-producing channels. You can learn to master certain skills, crack up with comedy videos, or stay caught up on current events. It’s the largest collection of videos on the Internet.
“Doodle Jump” also came up multiple times in the survey results. It’s a game app that came out seven years ago, and was a tremendous sensation. If somebody said the word “app” back then, Doodle Jump would have more than likely crossed your mind. It remained extremely popular until Angry Birds took its place as the “coolest app” a year later. The year after that, Temple Run stole the lead. The following year, Candy Crush was all the rage. However, Doodle Jump was one of the first game apps to ever become immensely popular. It was (and still and is) ridiculously simple yet addictive. The game maintains a small group of fans, like myself, to this day.
The next two questions asked... Which app did you use most recently? And... Which app did you download most recently? The apps most recently used were a reflection of the apps most commonly used, which makes quite a bit of sense. As for the most recently downloaded, they were primarily just random games that my friends were trying out. The App Store is filled with many different games to explore and enjoy.
In life, people pay for entertainment. The same happens on phones. Users buy In App Purchases that help them level up in games. They buy extra features for their apps to increase their entertainment experience. The final survey question was... How much money have you spent on your phone this year? According to the results, people have spent up to thirty dollars this year on their phones. Only one person has not spent any money on his phone in all of 2016. My survey concludes that people love their phones, and they love to be entertained on their phones for hours each day with a variety of apps. They are willing to pay in order to maximize this entertainment. New apps become popular each year, and the phone app industry is spreading. I believe we should not spend quite as much time on our phones as we do currently, and I am curious to see how drastically the time we spend on our phones changes in the future. But most of all, I am curious to see how apps evolve and become even more fun.
