Investigating the Factors that Influence Mobile Phone Adoption amongst the Youth in South Africa

Mobile penetration in Africa is currently estimated to be 78%. The youth are a significant part of the mobile phone market. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of mobile phones amongst the youth in an emerging country like South Africa. A qualitative method employing grounded theory techniques was used. A theoretical sample of seven male and female youth participants aged 18-30 years was used to generate qualitative data in intensive multiple in-depth interviews. The findings show that both functional and non-functional requirements were important to the participants and that the most dominant factors that influenced mobile phone adoption were form factor, ease of use, functionality, and connectivity. These findings are theoretically consistent with both the mobile technology acceptance model the theory of reasoned action. However, a group of qualifier factors also emerged as significant influencers