Technology
T1: Has your use of technology or smartphone changed since the last visit?
Treatment T1: Has your use of technology or smartphone changed since the last visit?
Use of technology
A considerable portion of the respondents (39% or 67 respondents) indicated their use of technology or smartphone had changed since the last interview, about a month ago.
A comparison by group assignment shows a considerable difference between control and treatment. While 46% of the treatment group said their use of technology had changed, only 31% of the control group said the same.
The "change" in use of their smartphone predominantly meant more use of their smartphone. Sixty-nine respondents said they have been using their phone more, while 27 respondents said they have been using their phone less.
(The reasons for using more technology and those for using less of it were not coded due to time constraints.)
The raw answers are listed below for review. A cursory review of the answers highlights time constraints, money constraints and broken phones as recurring reasons for less use.
There were no big differences for gender for these questions.
T3: Have you been using your smartphone more or less recently?
Control T1: Has your use of technology or smartphone changed since the last visit?
Reasons for using more technology
| Respondents | T4: If more or less, why? what kinds of technology have you been using on or with your smartphone? |
|---|---|
Reasons for using less technology
| Respondents | T4: If more or less, why? what kinds of technology have you been using on or with your smartphone? |
|---|---|
Phone troubles
A majority of the respondents is having some type of issue with their phone, the internet or technology in general. While 83 respondents (47% of the total) indicated they had not encountered any trouble, 92 other respondents named a variety of issues. The most common ones relate to phone or internet use and all are very mechanical hurdles, such as a hanging or broken phone, battery issues and network problems.
(Because not all answers to question T7 could be coded within the time frame, the non-coded answers are listed in a table here)
T7: What kind of trouble have you been having with your phone/technology/internet?
T7 non-coded answers
| Respondents | T7: What kind of trouble have you been having with your phone/technology/internet? |
|---|---|
Treatment
T5: What did you learn recently about technology?
Multiple answers per respondent possible.
Learning
A considerable number of respondents could formulate what they had recently learned about technology. On this topic there are some salient differences discernible between the treatment and the control groups.
Treatment
Close to half of the treatment group could name things they learned recently about technology. Most referred to inventions and innovation of ideas in general, that technology facilitates. Various other respondents explained technology makes work easier, creates job opportunities, improves communication and saves time and money.
Control
A far smaller number of control group respondents could name things they learned recently about technology. Most of the group (69%) said there was nothing they recently learned.
Control
T5: What did you learn recently about technology?
Multiple answers per respondent possible.
T6: What did you learn recently about the internet?
Multiple answers per respondent possible.
When asked specifically about the internet and what they recently learned the same difference between treatment and control shows: respondents from the treatment can more often and more detailed explain what they recently learned.
Treatment
A minority of 44% of the treatment group said there was nothing they learned recently about the internet. Those that did learn something mentioned a wide variety of things. Some uses of the internet were mentioned multiple times, such as: getting information, downloading files and learning about social media.
Control
Again, 69% of the control group said they had learned nothing recently about the internet. Of those that did learn something recently, most referred to learning about social media.
T6: What did you learn recently about the internet?
Multiple answers per respondent possible.
T8: What would you like to learn about your phone/internet since the last visit?
Multiple answers per respondent possible.
Helping others use technology
T9: Have you helped anyone else use their phone/internet/technology?
Exactly half of all respondents have helped others use their phone, the internet or technology in general. Men far more often indicate they help others than women do: 59% of all men versus 39% of all women.
A small difference also exists between the control and treatment groups: respondents from the treatment group indicate more often they helped other than those from the control group (52% versus 46%).
Friends or family are the most common beneficiaries of this help.
T9.2: Who have you helped use their phone/internet/technology?
Men T9: Have you helped anyone else use their phone/internet/technology?
Women T9: Have you helped anyone else use their phone/internet/technology?