Abstract:

Digital technology is reshaping the human landscape. Most of the activities we do during the day involve the use of technology: searching for information or news, catching up with friends trough social media, watching videos, on-line transactions, elaboration of documents, sending emails and so on. The implications for cognitive, personal, social and educational dimensions are yet to be explored. Knowing in detail what devices we use, what technology-based activities we conduct and what content we usually look for gives us a better sense of the magnitude of this unprecedented transformation. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the type of devices people use, the technology-based activities they perform and the type of content they usually look for. To do so, a questionnaire was developed in order to collect data from 222 participants (138 female, M = 30.7 years; S.D = 11.5). We asked participants to rank, from higher to lower frequency, a set of a) 10 different devices they use, b) 18 technology-based activities and c) 10 different content they usually search for when using these cognitive artifacts. Quantitative data analysis was performed. Main results showed that, a) smartphones were, by far, the most used device with 41.9% of the sample using them more than 4h per day. Contrary, smartwatches were the least used. Three out four participants reported they did not have one; b) engaging in social media activities was the most frequently technology-based activity, where 38.3% and 46.4% of the sample reported they daily used social media frequently and always, respectively. On the other side, 89.6% reported they have never used either Virtual, Augmented or Extended Reality (e.g. Oculus Rift); and c) the type of content participants searched for the most was breaking news (65.9% of the sample do so frequently or always), whereas fashion was the content least visited (52.3% reported they never or rarely look for information in this regard). Further, a positive correlation was found between the use of smartphone and social media activity, Pearson´s r (222) = .289, p < .001 and between the use of smartphone and searching for breaking news, Person´s r (222) = .259, p < .001. From these preliminary findings, there seems to be a match between technology, uses and type of content that fulfil the participant´s needs. Above all, people want to be updated (as we see from the preferred content searched) and connected with their friends and referents (as we note from the massive use of social media), anytime and anywhere. The technology that suits these desires the most are smartphones, much better than more innovative technologies like Virtual, Augmented or Extended Reality. Future studies should be conducted to confirm this tendency and look further into the implications of these findings.

Keywords:

Digital technology, uses of technology, digital content, digital devices.