patterns of facebook usage among baby boomers, generation x and generation y in malaysia

7/28/2019 Patterns of Facebook Usage Among Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y in Malaysia

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ProcediaComputerScienceProcedia Computer Science 00 (2009) 000000

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 Khorb*

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 whomthey 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 isGen 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: [email protected]* Corresponding author. Tel.: +604-6533824; fax: +604-6576749.

E-mail address: [email protected].


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Seong Chong Toh & Chiew Chi Khor / Procedia Computer Science 00 (2013) 000000

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 beenemployed 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

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

Independent variable Moderator variables Dependent variables

Facebook Baby Boomers

Generation X

Generation Y

Usage pattern

Time spent


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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 thequestionnaire 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 df Mean Square F Sig.

Between Groups 45.089 2 22.544 .754 .474

Within Groups 2602.033 87 29.908

Total 2647.122 89

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 Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Reconnect Between Groups 8.600 2 4.300 6.287 .003

Within Groups 59.500 87 0.684

Total 68.100 89

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


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Play Games Between Groups 8.956 2 4.478 3.693 .029


Total 114.456 89

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 (p0.05). 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 withfriends, 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


Reconnect Between Groups 9.089 2 4.544 6.989 .002

Within Groups 56.567 87 .650

Total 65.656 89

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


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Play Games Between Groups 13.356 2 6.678 3.621 .031


Total 173.789 89

From Table 7, there is a significant relationship in the amount of time spent for playing games among the threegeneration, F (2,87) = 3.621, p = 0.031 (p0.05) No significant

relationship

H02 Time spent p=0.082 (p>0.05) No significantdifference

H01.1 Usage pattern for

reconnecting with

people

p = 0.003 (p


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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 olderand 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 YThe 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 relativeadvantages 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.

References

1. Socialbakers.com. Facebook reaches 600 million users. Internet: http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/100-facebook-reaches-another-milestone-600-million-users/ [August 1, 2011]

2. L. Grossman, Person of the year 2010: Mark Zuckerberg. Internet:

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2036683_2037183_2037185.OO.html. [January 23, 2011].

3. Socialbakers.com. Malaysia Facebook statistics.Internet: http://www.socialbakers.com/facebook-statistics/malaysia. [January 23 2011]

4. Alexa.com. Top sites in Malaysia. Internet: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/MY. [May 1, 2010]

5. E. M. Rogers, Diffusion of innovations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press, 1995.

6. R. Agarwal, & J. Prasad, A conceptual and operational definition of personal innovativeness in the domain of information technology.Information Systems Research, 9(2), 204215, 1998.

7. G. C. Moore, & I. Benbasat, Development of an instrument to measure the perceived characteristics of adopting an information technologyinnovation. Information Systems Research, 2(3), 192222. 1991.

8. A, Jeyaraj, J. W. Rottman, & M. C. Lacity, A review of the predictors, linkages, and biases in IT innovation adoption research. Journal of

Information Technology, 21(1),123. 2006.

9. A. Joinson, Looking At, Looking Up or Keeping Up with People?: Motives and Use of Facebook. In Human Factors in Computing Systems.Proceedings SIGCHI Conference Forence, 2008.

10. Pew Annual Gadget Survey Report. Internet: http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Adult_gaming_memo.pdf.pdf.[June 1 2011]

11. C. Lampe, N. Ellison, & C. Steinfield, Changes in Use and Perception of FacebookCSCW Proceedings of the 2008 ACM conference onComputer supported cooperative work, 2008.
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patterns of facebook usage among baby boomers, generation x and generation y in malaysia

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