Differential innovation of smartphone and application use by sociodemographics and personality

Abstract

In the current study, we explore predictors of smartphone and smartphone application use in a large, diverse, population representative South Korean sample (N = 9482). Sociodemographics (e.g., gender, age, education, and income) were major predictors of smartphone and smartphone application use. Generally, younger, educated, and wealthy individuals tended to use smartphones and smartphone applications to a greater extent. Females tended to use smartphones, e-commerce applications, and relational applications more compared to males. Openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness were associated with increased probability of smartphone ownership. Extraversion was associated with decreased literacy application use and increased relational application use. Conscientiousness was associated with decreased e-commerce application use. These results imply that sociodemographics and personality predict smartphone innovation.