Consumer Behavior of Smartphone Users in Turkey: A Qualitative Research on Baby Boomers

Over the last few years, millions of users have switched from regular phones to smartphones. Smartphone usage varies considerably between different users, ranging from a couple of hours to 14 hours per day. Various features of smartphones make them good candidates for the delivery of behavioral interventions. First, as portable devices thatare highly valued by individuals, they tend to be switched on and remain with the owner throughout the day. The literature on smartphone app feasibility and acceptability is encouraging. The exploration of user viewpoints has often been limited and fairly superficial. There is little in depth, qualitative research allowing users to describe their experiences, views, and usage patterns. Several important areas are inadequately addressed by previous research. First, there is an absence of research on how older adults perceive and use apps for behavior change. Few reports exist discussing the development of interventions for this population. Given the lack of knowledge about smartphone addiction, the use of a qualitative method was deemed appropriate. We adopted an inductive strategy to investigate the antecedents, behaviors and outcomes associated with smartphone addictive use. A total of 12 participants were recruited. All participants completed a brief questionnaire providing demographic, lifestyle, and smartphone-related data. Participants comprised of 6 females and 6 males. Each session was guided by aninterview schedule adapted from the Questionnaire of Vaghefi et al. (2016) to assess more objectively the level of smartphone dependence of our interviewees. The coding was validated by two researchers. A consensus approach was used to resolve discrepancies. From our data analysis, we identified some patterns and could distinguish profiles of smartphone users