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Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger

Article  in  Global Journal of Enterprise Information System · April 2017

DOI: 10.18311/gjeis/2016/15741

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 Global Journal of Enterprise Information System DOI: 10.18311/gjeis/2016/15741

Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of

Whatsapp Messenger
Naveen Kumar* and Sudhansh Sharma
SOCIS, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi-110030, Delhi, India; [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract
WhatsApp is a popular mobile application for providing instant messaging service in smartphones. It uses Internet services to
communicate different type of text and multimedia messages between users or groups. Its users worldwide have crossed the figure
of one billion in February 2016. The effect of WhatsApp on our lives, culture, and society keeps on increasing. It is also becom-
ing popular tool for marketing in businesses and publicity in politics. This growth has also drawn the attention of researchers to
understand the implications and effect of WhatsApp on its user’s social and personal life. We investigated the usage and effect of
WhatsApp in the regions of Northern India. We performed an internet based survey using open-source Lime survey software and
obtained responses. Total 460 responses had been received in which only 136 responses were considered for analysis those have
completed all questions and having more than 18 years of age. The users in India made a slow shift from all social networking sites
to WhatsApp in a quick span of time. This survey results show that there is a significant impact of WhatsApp on its users. Around
66% of WhatsApp users believe that WhatsApp has improved their relationship with friends. More than 63% of its users think it is
not harmful for them. There are several other analyses presented in this paper based on age-groups and gender of WhatsApp users.
This survey analysis may be useful for academicians and researchers for understanding the behavior of WhatsApp users and reflect
the possibility of using WhatsApp in education, social services and governance.
Keywords: Instance Messenger, Impact, Survey, Usage, WhatsApp

Manuscript Accepted: 18-July-2016; Originality Check: 28-July-2016; Peer Reviewers Comment: 03-Aug-2016; Double
Blind Reviewers Comment: 22-Aug-2016; Author Revert: 25-Sep-2016; Camera-Ready-Copy: 30-Sep-2016)

1. Introduction
The world is dynamically changing due to the advancement in
the mobile technology. These days it is almost impossible to
avoid the presence of mobile applications or called Mobile Apps.
Most of the
People can praise the various mobile applications that they
use in their everyday lives. Several people are heavily dependent
of the usage of such applications for their day to day activities6.
Technology is evolving at a really quick rate, and what are its
impacts on the general public need to be studied and analyzed.
WhatsApp is one among the major change in mobile apps Figure 1. Growth of WhatsApp users 2013 to 2016.
communication in the recent past, it users is growing very fast
on mobile phones and also on the computers. The graph below WhatsApp has been around for a short while however its
shows its grown of users in recent years. This statistic shows a regular updates have been improving it’s the functionality since
timeline with the amount of monthly active WhatsApp users its release date. Some of its features are also updated recently
worldwide as of February 2016. As of that month, the mobile after initiating this online survey, hence these feature could
messaging app announced more than 1 billion monthly active not be addressed appropriately. Mainly WhatsApp was started
users, up from over 700 million in January 2015. The service is to interchange SMS with a cross-platform feature. If you have
one of the most popular mobile apps worldwide1. got unlimited text, it’s still helpful. WhatsApp uses mobile net-

*Author for correspondence

 Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger

work data or local area network to send and receive messages. In a study of southern part of India (Chennai region) was
In addition to text communication, users can also send pictures, conducted on the age group of between 18 to 23 years to inves-
video and audio media messages easily. Since the Smartphones tigate the importance of WhatsApp among youth9. Through
became common, several electronic communication services this study, It was found that students spent 8 hours per day on
for smartphones were launched however WhatsApp has become using WhatsApp and remain online almost 16 hours a day. All
highly popular among them. Mobile messaging applications like the respondents agreed that they are using WhatsApp for com-
WhatsApp have emerged as largely free alternatives to standard municating with their friends. They also exchange images, audio
SMS messaging. Besides text electronic messaging they addition- and video files with their friends using WhatsApp. It was also
ally support the exchange of pictures, videos, or voice records2,3. proved that the only application that the youth uses when they
Besides all, this Application is very addictive and might produce are spending time on their smart phone is WhatsApp.
an excellent impact on regular users, and with the exception of In a paper “Smartphone application usage amongst students
that it will leave a trace that becomes tough to manage and cure4. at a South African University”, a study is performed to evalu-
ate the usage of social networking applications in South African
University. According to this study, it is proved that students
2. Review of Literature spend an average of five hours per day on their smartphones
Various studies and analysis has been done on the usage and communicating with others through social networking applica-
impact of WhatsApp. Some of these studies are for finding the tions10. An article of Times of India Online newspaper dated
impact of WhatsApp on the students and some are based on for June 16, 2013, covered a survey, which was conducted by Tata
the general public in a local region. However, any widespread Consultancy Services in the years 2012-2013. The target group of
survey analysis for general public is not found during our litera- this survey was 17,500 high school students of age around 14-15
ture review. Some of these papers details are discussed below. years across 14 Indian cities. The result shows that almost 70% of
According to Financial Times, “WhatsApp Messenger, an the students possess smart phones and have started utilizing the
app which allows unlimited free text-messaging between users, full potential of smart phones9. According to Business Standard
has done to SMS on mobile phones what Skype did to interna- in its news on March 3, 2014, the combined usage of WhatsApp
tional calling on landlines. It has become a top-selling iPhone, and Facebook contributes to over half and hour per day to the
Android and BlackBerry app in dozens of markets, without a overall time spent on smartphones, says a study11
penny spent on promotion or advertising.”2,3. In a paper entitled
“What Makes Smartphone Users Satisfied with the Mobile Instant 3. Research Methods
Messenger?: Social Presence, Flow, and Self-disclosure”5 Author
has studied and analyzed factors affecting user satisfaction by The study uses Lime survey, open source software for conducting
conducting a survey on 220 users of mobile instant messengers on-line survey. A form was developed with both close-ended and
in smartphones. The survey results showed that self-disclosure, open ended questions to assess the demographics of users, usage
flow, and social presence significantly affected user satisfaction. of WhatsApp options, intensity of usage, reasons of using, and
Authors of “Privacy Implications of Presence Sharing in impact on social and private life of users. This study examines
Mobile Messaging Applications”7 conducted a user study with the usage and impact of WhatsApp mobile application among
two independent groups (19 participants in total), in which the users in the regions of Northern India. The objectives for the
we collected and analyzed their presence information over study are:
four weeks of regular WhatsApp use and conducted follow-up
interviews. Their results show that presence information alone 1. To analyze the intensity of WhatsApp usage and its popular
is sufficient to accurately identify, for example, daily routines, services
deviations, times of inappropriate mobile messaging, or conver- 2. To identify the degree of positive or negative impacts of using
sation partners. Another study is done on the WhatsApp Usage WhatsApp
on the Students Performance in Ghana8. The results of this study 3. To seek the frequency and interactivity of WhatsApp among
showed the following: WhatsApp takes much of students study its users.
time, results in procrastination related problems, destroys stu- 4. To explore the options of WhatsApp used the foremost by
dents’ spellings and grammatical construction of sentences, leads adults (more than 18 years of age).
to lack of concentration during lectures, results in difficulty in 5. To find out whether or not users are satisfied with the
balancing online activities (WhatsApp) and academic prepara- WhatsApp.
tion and distracts students from completing their assignments 6. To explore the impact of WhatsApp on individual personal
and adhering to their private studies time table. and social life.

53 Vol 8 | Issue 3 | July-September 2016 | www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis GJEIS | Print ISSN: 0975-153X | Online ISSN: 0975-1432
Naveen Kumar and Sudhansh Sharma Case Study

The open ended questions gave the samples an opportunity of the participants are using WhatsApp 15 to 60 minutes daily.
to express their views regarding WhatsApp messenger and to list This figure also indicates that both male and female are equally
out a number of the options that they just like the most within the involved in using WhatsApp daily,
app. This gave the researcher to collect additional data relating to
WhatsApp messenger and users viewpoint. The researcher used
judgmental sampling to identify the samples for the study. Some
questions were designed to ascertain the validity of answers and
seriousness of users toward the filling of the form. Survey was
distributed to various regions of India. The researchers made use
of each primary and secondary data, that were gathered from
diverse sources, including, archival sources, text books, journals/
articles (both publish and unpublished), and websites.

4. Results and Discussion Figure 3. Maturity of WhatsApp Users with Gender

Distribution.
A survey was conducted on actual users of smartphone instant
messengers. The questionnaire was performed an internet based
survey using open-source Lime survey software and obtained
responses. Total 460 responses had been received in which only
136 responses were considered for analysis those have completed
all questions and having more than 18 years of age.
In total valid 136 entries 36 female and 100 males entries are
distributed in different age groups as shown below in the Figure
2. This shows that most of adult WhatsApp users belong to age
group of 18 to 50 years. We have not received any entry apart
from male and female. The gender distribution reflects that only
Figure 4. Everyday Usage of WhatsApp among Different
36% of women candidates have participated in the survey com-
Gender.
pared to male candidates. However, it may not be sufficient to
draw such conclusion.
One of the objectives of our survey is to find the WhatsApp
services preferred by the users. To know this direct question of
using WhatsApp compared to normal SMS/Calling of mobile
phone is asked to the users. The Figure 5 shows that participants
are not giving direct indication towards one opinion. However,
participants those are preferring WhatsApp over mobile phone is
slightly high. Considering the minor difference, we are unable to
make and conclusion from this result.

Figure 2. Age and Gender of Participants.

To know the maturity of our participants of using WhatsApp,

we have collected information. So that opinions of these par-
ticipants can be justified. The Figure 3 given below shows that
most of the participants including male and female are using
WhatsApp since one year.
The Figure 4 given below depicts the everyday usage of Figure 5. Participants Opinion on Usage of WhatsApp as
WhatsApp among different gender. Overall we can see that most Calling or Messaging.

Vol 8 | Issue 3 | July-September 2016 | www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis GJEIS | Print ISSN: 0975-153X | Online ISSN: 0975-1432 54
 Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger

To know which service of WhatsApp is more used, we have

asked to the participants whether they like WhatsApp calling fea-
ture or not. As shown in Figure 6 below, 83% of our participants
mentioned that they do not like calling service of WhatsApp in
comparison to normal talking using mobile phone. This result
gives strong indication that the internet based calling service of
WhatsApp need more improvement for its wider acceptance.

Figure 8. Participants Everyday Usages of WhatsApp and Age.

Figure 6. Opinion on Usage of WhatsApp as Calling or Phone

for Calling.

To understand the involvement of different age groups and

gender groups with the WhatsApp following chart is gener- Figure 9. Participants Involvement in WhatsApp Groups and
ated. This Figure 7 depicts that 73% of our participants are using Gender.
this App for more than a year and fall between 18-50 years.
Considering the maturity of using WhatsApp, the opinion of our Age distribution and people involvement on the WhatsApp
participants seek through this questionnaire would be more sig- groups is reflected in the Figure 10 given below. It shows that 57%
nificant. of population is having membership of 3 to 6 groups and 37% of
people are members of 1 to 3 groups between 18 to 59 years of
age. Mostly people of 18 to 25 years are involved in the groups,
however people of 36 to 50 years are also having high involve-
ment in the WhatsApp groups.

Figure 7. Participants Age and Duration of Usages.

The Figure 8 below shows the age distribution and everyday

usage of WhatsApp by participants. It shows that 79% of our par-
ticipants of between 18-50 years are using WhatsApp 15 to 60 Figure 10. Participants Involvement in WhatsApp Groups
minutes daily. and Age Distribution.
Figure 9 shows that 57% male and 55% females are member
of 3 to 6 groups on the WhatsApp. 37% males are 38% females To understand the reasons of using WhatsApp, a direct ques-
are having membership of 1 to 3 groups. Only very few people tion is asked with multiple answering options including text
are not having any group membership. During our study we real- box so that people can write any other reason. Most of the par-
ized that people behaviors and impact of communications/post ticipants have given multiple reasons of using WhatsApp and
on the group members need to be studied separately. negligible people have mentioned any other reason.

55 Vol 8 | Issue 3 | July-September 2016 | www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis GJEIS | Print ISSN: 0975-153X | Online ISSN: 0975-1432
Naveen Kumar and Sudhansh Sharma Case Study

The Figure 11 below shows clearly that due to WhatsApp fea- To understand the reasons of using WhatsApp even though
tures and its technique for communication is appreciated by the people think it is harmful, a direct question is asked with mul-
users. However, people are also using WhatsApp because its free tiple answering options. Figure 13 given below shows that most
and other family/friends are using it. of the people are compelled to use it because of the social and
physiological reasons. However 69 respondents says that they are
using it because it is user friends.
To know people opinion that WhatsApp is helpful in improv-
ing their family relationship or not a direct question is asked.
Figure 14 below shows 44 % people are in favor and 39% are not
in favor of this.

Figure 11. Participants Major Reasons of Using WhatsApp.

To understand people thinking toward WhatsApp, direct

question is asked that whether WhatsApp harms you or not.
As shown below in Figure 12, 64% people think that it does not
harms them. 17% people have not given there opinion about this
question. Only 19% of people have admitted that yes it harm Figure 14. Participants Opinion about WhatsApp Improves
them. Family Relationship or Not.

To know people opinion that WhatsApp is helpful in improv-

ing their relationship with family members or not a direct
question is asked. Figure 15 below shows 66 % people are in favor
and 23% are not in favor of this. In case of friends majority of
people think WhatsApp is helpful however, in case of family rela-
tionship it is not a fact.

Figure 12. Participants Opinion whether WhatsApp is

Harmful or Not.

Figure 15. Participants Opinion about WhatsApp Improves

Friends Relationship or Not.

As depicted in the Figure 16 below, 54% of people think they

are able to manage their time while using the WhatsApp and 29%
Figure 13. Major Reasons of using WhatsApp Even Believing people think somewhere they are not able to manage their time
it is Harmful. properly with WhatsApp.

Vol 8 | Issue 3 | July-September 2016 | www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis GJEIS | Print ISSN: 0975-153X | Online ISSN: 0975-1432 56
 Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger

6. References
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statista.com/statistics/260819/number-of-monthly-active-What-
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cuts/2012/dec/04/WhatsApp-new-text-messaging
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88c6-00144feabdc0.html
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addictive-dangerous-read-how-to-overcome
5. What Makes Smartphone Users Satisfied with the Mobile Instant
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Figure 16. Participants Opinion about their Time Management
Park1, Kwangsu Cho1and Bong Gyou Lee International Journal of
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Performance in Tertiary Institutions in Ghana Johnson Yeboah
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Citation:
Naveen Kumar and Sudhansh Sharma
“Survey Analysis on the usage and Impact of Whatsapp Messenger”,
Global Journal of Enterprise Information System. Volume-8, Issue-3, July-September, 2016. (http://informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis)
Conflict of Interest:
Author of a Paper had no conflict neither financially nor academically.

57 Vol 8 | Issue 3 | July-September 2016 | www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/gjeis GJEIS | Print ISSN: 0975-153X | Online ISSN: 0975-1432

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