Live life step-by-step before you move higher up the ladder; if you skip a step in between, there is every probability that you might jumble-up at the end of it all. That’s a basic preaching of life passed on to us by our ancestors.
But, as they say, every law or theorem has its own set of exceptions. Similarly, there is a generation of mobile users out there, for whom this cliché does not really hold true. Yeah, they are called ‘Mobile-first’ users.
The mobile-first community simply denotes a region or a demographic in which the mobile phone is the primary access medium for communication and entertainment, as opposed to the PC. It relates to a class of internet users who have leapfrogged the PC and jumped directly to the mobile.
These mobile-first users enjoys socializing on networking sites, like to create virtual identities, indulge in chatting with friends, play social real-time games, keeping track of buzzing sports events, discussing movie-masala and Bollywood trends, etc.
Moreover, there are also a few conservative people who are not comfortable in divulging their real life details on the internet; but would still like to stay connected and spend their time online through their smartphones; says the Mobile-First User survey.
Contents
Key Highlights of the Mobile-First Survey
Internet Access through Mobile
Almost whole of mig33 sample user base prefer to access internet on mobile. Moreover, very few households in tier 2 and 3 towns have a computer with internet connection; that has spurred the evolution of mobile-first community, where the only alternative source of accessing internet is through cyber cafes.
Preferred Social Networking Sites
An interesting outcome of the mobile-first user trends indicate that while Facebook is more prominently used, to the extent of 92%, in tier 1 cities; it is Orkut that leads the race even today in tier 2 and 3 cities with almost 80% users hooked therein.
Preferred Activity on Social Media
Chatting and making new friends is the most preferred activity amongst tier 2 and 3 mobile-first users. Almost 64% of the tier 2 users are on social networks to chat with strangers. In tier 1 cities, the urban users are stylish and like to show-off their real life stuff and have a strong friend community.
Time Spent on Social Networking Sites
More than half of tier 2 and 3 mobile-first users spend per session of over half an hour in socializing with their friends and families. Surprisingly, in urban areas only about 25% users have enough time to spend over 30 minutes on social networks.
The virtue of the Virtual world
For the mobile-first community, the virtual world is their second home. Very few users in tier 3 cities put up their real picture to maintain secrecy about themselves. However, they prefer to create avatars which closely replicate their aspirations such as those of wearing cool costumes and accessories which they cannot buy in real life due to monetary constraints.
The mobile-first communities, across all towns, are conscious about their reputation; and users play games to earn points and build their reputation. Moreover, users from tier 2 cities with low social profile in real life look for building strong online social identity by winning more social games. Virtual gifts are a means to impress, attract and gain attention of the opposite gender.
So, how do you spend your most of the time on social networking sites?
