SMARTSPHONES AND COMMUNICATION PATTERN AMONG STUDENTS IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS

Abstract Communication is at the heart of human existence and technology has always determined the nature of and nurture how man communicates. The introduction of mobile telephone and most importantly smartphones has altered the way youths communicate, yet there is little or no empirical research on the influence of this technology on the communication pattern of youth especially students in higher institutions. The survey research design was adopted with questionnaire as the instrument of gathering data from 500 respondents chosen from the Redeemer's University, Osun State and the University of Lagos, Lagos State. Study revealed that smartphone usage among students in higher institutions has positive influence on their communication pattern. The study further showed that majority of the respondents used their smartphone for social activities and related functions. On the strength of these findings, the researchers recommended that more researches should be conducted to know more about this growing technology. Also, it was recommended that marketing communication professionals should be interested in the opportunities provided by this technology to reach out to their target audience