Procedia Computer Science 00 (2009) 000000

Procedia Computer Science

www.elsevier.com/locate/procedia

World Conference on Information Technology - 2011

Patterns of Facebook Usage Among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y in Malaysia

Seong-Chong Toh a*, Chiew Chi Khor b*

a&b

Center For Instructional Technology and Multimedia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang, Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia has of the highest Facebook usage in South East Asia, Cognizant to that, a study was conducted to investigate the pattern of Facebook usage amongst the Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y in Malaysia. The study showed that there is no significant difference in the usage pattern and time spent amongst the three generations. There are, however, two activities which reflect differences between Baby Boomers and younger generations (Gen X and Y); namely, reconnecting with people whom they have lost contact with and playing games. This study supported Rogers Diffusion of Innovation theory, and proved that the innovation (Facebook) has the potential for full adoption within the social system given adequate time.
Keywords: Facebook; Baby Boomers; Gen X; Gen Y; Innovation Diffusion Theory; Social Networking Sites; adoption

Introduction Facebook is estimated to reach 600 million users in 2011 [1]. Time magazine estimated that one out of every dozen people on the planet has a Facebook account [2]. In Malaysia, there are 10,075,420 Facebook users (as of January 2011) which are 38.51% of Malaysia total population [3]. Statistics by Socialbakers.com shows that Gen Y (born between 1981 and 1999) are the majority of Malaysian Facebook users (38%). The second largest group is Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) (33%) followed by the Baby Boomers (after World War II between 1946 and 1964) age group (10%). The popularity of Facebook among Malaysians can be seen from Alexa.com, a premier ranking website, which ranked Facebook as number one most visited site among 100 sites in Malaysia [4]. Furthermore, Facebook phenomena among Malaysians is prevalence as Malaysia is among top ten growing countries in using Facebook in the last six month of 2010 [1]. This paper reports on an exploratory and descriptive study of Facebook pattern of usage among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y users in Malaysia. The research questions guiding this study are as follows: (a) what is the usage pattern of Facebook among Baby
a

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +604-6533824; fax: +604-6576749. E-mail address: tohsc@usm.my. b * Corresponding author. Tel.: +604-6533824; fax: +604-6576749. E-mail address: tohsc@usm.my.

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Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y? (b) what is the amount of time spent on Facebook among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y? Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework used for this study is based on Rogers Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT) [5]. Rogers [5] defined diffusion as the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system (p.10) and innovation as an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by the individual (p.11). According to IDT, innovations have five significant characteristics: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. These characteristics are used to explain the user adoption and decision-making processes. Empirically, the successful spread of an innovation follows a standard-deviation curve, which is divided and characterized into five categories system member innovativeness. The innovativeness is defined as the degree to which an individual is relatively earlier to adopting new ideas compared to other members of a system. These groups are the innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. There are four major parts to this theory, namely, (i) The Innovation-Decision Process ; (ii) Individual Innovativeness; (iii) Rate of Adoption and (iv) Perceived Characteristics. However, previous studies found that only relative advantage, compatibility and complexity are consistently related to innovation adoption [6]. The relative advantage construct is similar to perceived usefulness and the complexity construct is similar to perceived ease of use [7]. IDT has been employed to examine information technology (IT) adopted by individuals or organizations. Few studies have used environmental factors in individual IT adoption but environmental factors such as external pressures, peer and coercive influences can significantly influence IT adoption decisions [8]. Hence this study was undertaken in an attempt to connect the dots. 1. Method of the Study The independent variable of this study is the social networking site, Facebook. The dependent variables include the usage pattern and time spent. The moderator variables, individuals from Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y are included to examine and compare the usage pattern and time spent on Facebook. Table 1: Independent, moderator, and dependent variables Independent variable Facebook Moderator variables Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y Dependent variables Usage pattern Time spent

2.1 Sample size of the study The research study is carried out on students, educators and lecturers of Chung Ling High School Penang, Han Chiang College (Penang) and Centre for Instructional Technology and Multimedia, Universiti Sains Malaysia. The sample consisted of 90 individuals (30 from each age group) which were randomly selected to participate in the survey. These individuals are confirmed to have a Facebook account. 2.2 Instrument The data collection instrument of this study was a structured survey questionnaire. The survey questions were adapted from past research and reference materials on social networking sites. The questions were then modified to fit the context and purpose of the study. The questionnaires were distributed to two experts of instructional technology to examine and determine the content validity. They have provided useful input and valuable comments which were important in constructing the final questionnaires. The data collected in the pilot test were analyzed

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using SPSS. The high value of Cronbachs alpha 0.91 indicated that the questionnaires are reliable and could be used in the study. To ensure the survey would be done on the correct sample, ruling out the possibility of reaching the wrong individuals such as those who do not have Facebook accounts, a question like Do you have a Facebook account? would be asked upfront (in advance) to the individual. The individual would have to answer either Yes or No. The paper survey questionnaire would then only be distributed to those individuals who have answered Yes. The randomly selected individuals were given a duration of 3 days to complete the questionnaire. However, since the questionnaire only consists of 10 main questions, almost 90% respondents managed to complete the questionnaire in less than 15 minutes. The remaining respondents (10%) completed and returned the survey forms within 3 days. 3. Result of the Study To answer the two hypotheses in this study, inferential statistics data were analyzed as follows:Hypothesis 1 H01 : There is no significant relationship of Facebook usage pattern among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y Table 2: One-way ANOVA for usage pattern among Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y Sum of Squares 45.089 2602.033 2647.122 df 2 87 89 Mean Square 22.544 29.908 F .754 Sig. .474

Between Groups Within Groups Total

Table 2 shows there is no significant relationship in the usage pattern among the three generations, F (2,87) = 0.754, p = 0.474 (p>0.05). Therefore the null hypothesis 1 was not rejected. The usage pattern is the sum of 11 variables namely 1) find information, 2) share information, 3) view photos, 4) share/post photos, 5) get opinions, 6) stay in touch with friends, 7) reconnect with people (lost contact with), 8) maintain relationships with people whom may not get to see very often, 9) look at the profiles of people, 10) browse friends friends and 11) play games. To further explore deeper into the variables, two variables were analyzed 1) reconnect with people (lost contact with) and 2) play games The sub-hypotheses are:H01.1: There is no significant relationship of usage pattern for reconnecting with people among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y H01.2: There is no significant relationship of usage pattern for playing games among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y Table 3: One-way ANOVA for the usage pattern of reconnecting with people Reconnect Between Groups Within Groups Total Sum of Squares 8.600 59.500 68.100 df 2 87 89 Mean Square 4.300 0.684 F 6.287 Sig. .003

From Table 3, there is a significant relationship in the usage pattern of reconnecting with people whom the respondents lost contact with, among the three generation, F (2,87) = 6.287, p = 0.003 (p<0.05). Therefore the null sub hypothesis 1.1 was rejected. Table 4: One-way ANOVA for the usage pattern of playing games

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Play Games

Between Groups Within Groups Total

Sum of Squares 8.956 105.500 114.456

df 2 87 89

Mean Square 4.478 1.213

F 3.693

Sig. .029

From Table 4, there is a significant relationship in the usage pattern of playing games among the three generation, F (2,87) = 3.693, p = 0.029 (p<0.05). Therefore the null sub hypothesis 1.2 was rejected. Hypothesis 2 H02: There is no significant difference in the amount of time spent among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y Table 5:One-way ANOVA for time spent among Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y

Between Groups Within Groups Total

Sum of Squares 200.556 3380.567 3581.122

df 2 87 89

Mean Square 100.278 38.857

F 2.581

Sig. .082

Table 5 shows there is no significant difference in the time spent among the three generations, F (2,87) = 2.581, p = 0.082 (p>0.05). Therefore the null hypothesis 2 was not rejected. The time spent is the sum of 11 variables namely 1) find information, 2) share information, 3) view photos, 4) share/post photos, 5) get opinions, 6) stay in touch with friends, 7) reconnect with people (lost contact with), 8) maintain relationships with people whom may not get to see very often, 9) look at the profiles of people, 10) browse friends friends and 11) play games. To further explore deeper into the variables, two variables were analyzed 1) reconnect with people (lost contact with) and 2) play games The sub-hypotheses are:H02.1: There is no significant difference in the amount of time spent on reconnecting with people among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y H02.2: There is no significant difference in the amount of time spent on playing games among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y Table 6: One-way ANOVA for the time spent on reconnecting with people Sum of Squares 9.089 56.567 65.656 df 2 87 89 Mean Square 4.544 .650 F 6.989 Sig. .002

Reconnect

Between Groups Within Groups Total

From Table 6, there is a significant relationship in the amount of time spent for reconnecting with people whom the respondents lost contact with, among the three generation, F (2,87) = 6.989, p = 0.002 (p<0.05). Therefore the null sub hypothesis 2.1 was rejected. Table 7: One-way ANOVA for the time spent on playing games

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Play Games

Between Groups Within Groups Total

Sum of Squares 13.356 160.433 173.789

df 2 87 89

Mean Square 6.678 1.844

F 3.621

Sig. .031

From Table 7, there is a significant relationship in the amount of time spent for playing games among the three generation, F (2,87) = 3.621, p = 0.031 (p<0.05). Therefore the null sub-hypothesis 2.2 was rejected. 3.1 Summary The results for the hypotheses of this study are summarized in Table 8. Table 8: Summary of findings Research Hypotheses H01 H02 H01.1 H01.2 H02.1 H02.2 Regarding Usage pattern Time spent Usage pattern for reconnecting with people Usage pattern for playing games Time spent on reconnecting with people Time spent on playing games Findings p= 0.474 (p>0.05) p=0.082 (p>0.05) p = 0.003 (p<0.05) p = 0.029 (p<0.05) p = 0.002 (p<0.05) p = 0.031 (p<0.05) Result No significant relationship No significant difference Significant relationship Significant relationship Significant difference Significant difference

4. Discussion The study reveals that the elderly Baby Boomers and middle age Gen Y seemed to use Facebook to seek and share information more often than the younger Gen X. than Gen X. The information sharing activity involves providing information that one possesses and information finding involves searching for information that one desires. Itd be very interesting to find out specifically what information the Baby Boomers or Gen Y find on Facebook or share with other Facebook users. When it comes to viewing photos, there is no obvious difference in the usage pattern among the three age groups. We can safely conclude that the activity of photo viewing within Facebook is a fun activity which most of people enjoyed doing it. In addition, Facebook offers the ability to users to provide instant feedback on the photos which have been viewed by clicking likes. Similar with the activity of photo viewing, the three generations use Facebook to share photos, although this study reveals that Gen X seemed to be slightly more involved in the activity. This study concurs with study by Joinson [9] who found that the social uses of photos like photo sharing and photo tagging played an important role in social connection . In this study, it was found that the young people are more likely to seek opinions from others within Facebook than the older generation. Both Gen X and Gen Y tended to use Facebook to seek opinions, and itd be interesting to know what opinions and whether people really act on the opinions received. Additionally, this study also found that staying in touch with friends is one of the main reason people use Facebook. The usage pattern is quite consistent across all age groups. Nevertheless, the Baby Boomers seem to be more heavily engaged in this activity compared to Gen X and Gen Y. The factor of time probably explains the difference. Older people have more leisure time, while the young people may be too preoccupied and busy building their career.

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While the three generations used Facebook to stay in touch with friends frequently, the Baby Boomers use the social network to reconnect with people whom they have lost contact with more intensively, compared to Generation X and Y. This study shows that there is a significant difference particularly between Baby Boomers and Gen Y. This could probably confirm one of the main reasons that Baby Boomers are using Facebook more actively. Older people places more value for friends and their friendships are very valuable to them. On the other hand, it is much easier for young people to find new friends and they may not feel a crucial need to cling to their old friends. Even though these are generalizations and do not apply to everyone, the findings show a significant difference between the older and younger generations on the usage of Facebook to reconnect with people whom they have lost contact with. Interestingly, the study also shows that the usage for maintaining relationship with people whom participants may not get to see very often, is more frequent among the Baby Boomers compared to Gen X and Gen Y. There is evidence that older adults log on to Facebook to keep in touch with family member and friends whom they may not get to see face to face. The activity of looking at profiles of people whom they dont know is more regular among the younger people even though this activity is the least popular compared to other activities within Facebook. The profile refers to personal homepage of a user, including information about the user, photos and their friend list. The ability to view other peoples social networks and friend is one of the unique affordance of a social networking site. The present study indicates that there is no significant difference in the engagement of browsing friends friends among the three generations. This activity may be a method where the older and younger generations increase the circle size of their social network. Interestingly, in the activity of playing games, the study reveals there is a significant difference (relationship) on the usage among the three generations. The middle-aged and older adults (Gen X and early Baby Boomers) play games more frequently on Facebook compared to younger adults (Gen Y). The result is consistent with the Pews Annual Gadgets Survey report [10]. In this report, middle-aged gamers, age 30-49 prefer to play games on computers, and the young adults gamers prefer to play on dedicated game consoles, e.g Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, which provide greater speed and excitement compared to playing games on general purpose computers. The current gaming trend may probably best explain the reason why older adults play games more regularly on Facebook compared to younger adults. 4.2. Time spent on various activities among Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y The study indicated there is no significant difference in the amount of the time spent in the various activities among the Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. However, Baby Boomers tended to spent more time in most of the activities mentioned earlier. This is especially evident particularly in the activities of reconnecting with people whom they have lost contact with and maintaining relationships with people they may not get to see often. The finding of this study reaffirms the study of past research on the importance of Facebook which relates to social searching and surveillance functions [11]. In terms of the amount of time spent in playing games, the study shows a significant difference among the three age groups. The middle aged (Gen X) and early Baby Boomers spent more time to play games compared to Gen Y. One of the reasons is that older adults have more leisure time while younger people may not feel worth to spend their time on this type of activity on Facebook. 5 . Limitations and future directions Many limitations exist in the current study beginning with the sample being drawn only from a population of students, educators and lecturers in three institutions in the state of Penang, Malaysia. Thus, the results may not be generalizable to populations at other institutions or with other demographics. Second, the information produced from this study is descriptive and correlational, and causation cannot be inferred. Finally, the accuracy of respondents is questionable in reporting information on large survey studies such as this. For instance, respondents were asked to recount how many hours per week the respondent typically spends using the Internet, and the degree to which students may be able to accurately report such information cannot be triangulated. Future work should actually record logging data so as to determine the veracity of the self-report. 6. Conclusion

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This study was one of the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the usage pattern of Facebook amongst Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y in Malaysia. It offers insights into the reasons behind Facebook users willingness to adopt Facebook as a social network tool. The Baby Boomers use Facebook for numerous activities just like Gen X and Gen Y. Linking back to Rogers Diffusion of Innovation theory, it appears that the innovation (Facebook) has the potential for full adoption within the social system of Baby Boomers in Malaysia. The Baby Boomers are considered the late majority who waits to ensure that the adoption of Facebook is in their best interests. Through this study, it is evident the Baby Boomers are utilizing Facebook effectively as they realized the relative advantages of the website. The Baby Boomers have higher engagement in some of the Facebook activities, especially in reconnecting with people whom they have lost contact with and maintaining relationship with the people whom they may not get to see very often, e.g old friends and family members. According to Rogers [5], any innovation will take time to mature. The growth of Facebook adoption is steadily progressing in Malaysia as more and more users including the Baby Boomers are using the social network service and website. If there were any roadblocks of older people using the social network site in Malaysia, they would be the accessibility to Internet /broadband and computer skills/knowledge which most of the older generations are still lacking. If these gaps are addressed, there is a possibility that the older generation will dominate the site in future.

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