How Do They Use Their Smartphones: A Study on Smartphone Usage by Indian Students

It is very important to know users’ behavior to design and build effective interactive systems, tools, or applications. The behavioral study not only helps to assure the success of any design or product but also helps other researchers from various related areas. In this study, we have systematically collected and analyzed the behavioral data for smartphone usage by 1711 students of 188 academic institutions throughout India. We have observed students’ behavior on smartphone usages both inside and outside the classroom. We conducted the study focusing on two aspects: to find the behavioral differences on the smartphone usage based on the gender, and academic level; and to identify the most frequently performed smartphone activities by the students inside and outside the classroom. Although there are few similarities with the existing related studies, we have found many dissimilarities as well. It is expected that the findings of the study will help many researchers from various fields including HCI, Mobile HCI, Behavioral Science, Psychology, and Education.

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