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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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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Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Play Games Between Groups 8.956 2 4.478 3.693 .029
Within Groups 105.500 87 1.213
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
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
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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Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Play Games Between Groups 13.356 2 6.678 3.621 .031
Within Groups 160.433 87 1.844
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
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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]
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