Mobile phone and chat apps usage among malawian university Students: Luanar’s experience

Abstract

Studies on mobile phone usage indicate a rising trend of the same in many countries. Studies furthermore show an increasing use of Messaging or Chat Apps, which makes SMS passé for many smartphone users. While the use of mobile phones and Chat Apps are observed to increase in different parts of the world, little is known from the empirical point of view concerning social and pedagogical use of the same amongst university students in Malawi. It is in this line that the present study was conducted. The study used a crosssectional research design, where Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) was used as a case study. A total of 125 respondents (undergraduate and Master’s students), selected at random, were involved in this research. Questionnaires and interviews were used as instruments and methods for data collection. Findings showed that 99.2% of surveyed respondents own and use mobile phones, with more than half of them owning smartphones. Despite the fairly high extent of smartphone ownerships and usage, almost half of smartphone users have never used Chat Apps. Most of those who are using Chat Apps, use WhatsApp mainly for text messaging. Some of the identified social and academic uses of phones were searching for academic materials on the internet; communicating with lecturers, fellow students and families/friends; recording lectures and listening to them later; and storage device for academic materials. The study, among others things, recommends that higher learning institutions should consider the high rate of mobile phones ownership and usage among students as an opportunity that can be used to enhance delivery of academic matters.