Results & Insights of our research
Mobile Me & You Project (Gaming Community) Part VIII |“New Consumer Trends”- “Mobile Reputations” course | Panteion University
In a world that is constantly changing new trends are taking place. In the frame of our course “Mobile Reputations”, we, as students of the Panteion University, run a qualitative research in order to examine the use of mobile phones by millennials. More specific we decided to focus on the gaming community and we managed to interview 12 persons, in order to meet the needs of our project.
As it is known every research brings some results. Here is what we managed to figure out from our small group of friends as far as their mobile and gaming behavior is concerned. At last, we report the insights we conclude about millennials.
Results of our research
About mobile phone
□ They all use their mobile phone for:
· Organizing their daily routine (alarm clock, notes, calendar etc.)
· Being informed about the news
· Entertainment (games, music, social media, Netflix etc)
· Communication (social media)
□ Most of the interviews said that if they couldn’t use their phone any more, they would go mad and feel lost. Only a few of them claim that they probably would feel free and, as usually, these are people who use their mobile phone especially for work rather than amusement (constant communication with clients, coworkers or classmates).
□ All of them express a preference for completing a quick task or a small research on their mobile phone, as usually they already have it in hand. However, they will resort to their computer or laptop if a bigger project needs to be done.
□ Almost every person we asked complete online transactions via mobile as far as purchase of clothes, games, gadgets and PC accessories are concerned, but not everyone uses sharing platforms, like Airbnb. Except for buying products online they don’t express particularly a preference for paying bills or services.
□ Some of the interviewers believe that Instagram is the new Facebook, while others say that they use both of them to the same degree. What they all agree is that Facebook is the perfect way for them to be informed about academic news or daily local news and they keep themselves updated through that. On the other hand, Instagram is more preferred for uploading their personal photos or sharing content. Therefore, the first one is a source of information and the latter a more entertaining application.
□ Influencers at social media are selected based on their personality, if it is interesting and positive, if they have humor or a positive impact on consumers and the quality of the content they produce.
About Gaming
□ All gamers love playing late in the evening or at nights.
□ Almost all of them, no matter how much time they devote to gaming, feel that they are a part of the gaming community. Only one stated that he doesn’t consider himself as a gamer, since the actual gamer, as he believes, doesn’t have any other activities or personal life than gaming.
□ Friends that share the same habits on their mobile phones like to play games all together and cooperate behind a common aim.
□ All gamers, apart from their mobile phone, play on other gadgets too, like on their computer or PlayStation. Most of them actually prefer playing on these gadgets and some of the reasons they mentioned us are:
· the bigger screen, a wider range of games, easier access as all strategic games you download is “real time”, better graphics and, at last, the possibility of doing many other things at the same time while playing, like listening to music and scrolling on social media.
Reasons they play on mobile phone:
· they can play games no matter where they are (usually they play in public transportation)
· there are other kind of games on mobile (usually more relaxing and require less effort from the user)
□ Some of them claim that not much money is invested on mobile gaming and therefore their graphics are inferior to games played on other gadgets. As a result, these gaming apps are being quickly deleted and the user tries again to find a decent game that will hold his interest for a long time.
□ Most of the gamers we interviewed watch streaming. This is because they want to learn new tactics and strategies regarding specific games, while they also become informed about new releases. The rest that was against watching streaming is because they feel like they know how to play, as they play games from a very young age. Not all of them necessarily follow gamers influencers, because they are more interested in gaming rather than the person that plays.
□ The majority of them like sharing personal content on social media, but not in gaming platforms. Those who are not interested in following gaming as a profession don’t produce content in streaming platforms, they only watch others. For them gaming comes first, streaming second and social brand at last. On the contrary, gamers who have professional prospects of it, social brand is a priority. So, they like participating in live streaming platforms and uploading their work on social media. They also receive and give feedback.
□ Being a gamer doesn’t automatically mean that you immediately buy any new release that comes to market. Some of the gamers we asked like to pay for games they find appealing, regardless the date they came out, or they pay for equipment for their players. On the contrary, other gamers don’t buy gamers or any other accessories.
Insights about millennials
Conducted by our whole research/ interviews
• Most millennials feel like they can’t live without their phone.
• Millennials want to feel always connected to the world and their people (extreme use of social media)
• Mobile phone is being used as a personal assistant. Everyone uses apps to organize his daily routine
• Mobile phone is supposed to be a digital mirror of our character. Everyone downloads applications regarding to their interests (photo editing apps, workout apps etc.)
• Millennials have high standards. Influences need to stand out with quality content in order to attract users’ attention and hold their interest.
Conducted by gamers
• Millennials feel the need of constant guidance and they always want to keep track of things that lure them. (watching streaming for learning tactics and new games)
• Millennials are bored easily. Since they lose their interest on a game, they immediately delete it from their mobile menu and they are looking for another gaming app.
• From classic board games, we have moved to mobile gaming. Millennials love playing games all together since forever and if they have the chance to do it on mobile, they do.
• Millennials grow with a multitasking mentality. They like playing games on all gadgets, even though it is the same game, while at the same time they can listen to music or scroll on social media.
• Millennials likes convenience. If it is easier for them to complete a task on mobile, they will. If mobile makes it difficult, they will immediately replace it with any other gadget that will make it easier for them.
• All millennials want their mobile phone beside them when they wake up. They begin their day with that (alarm clock, social media)
• The unwritten law of gaming is that every gamer has to play late in the evening or at night.
- Gaming is supposed to be a big community, in which everyone has the chance to become a professional if he wishes.
If you want to learn how this project got started and the methodology that we follow you can have a look at the following articles:
If you are looking for the other parts of the intrviews that we took check the links below:
We also made a comparison with global trends
Team: Antonis Katsis, Liana Kollia, Korina Simeonidou
Professor: Betty Tsakarestou
