Socio–economic implications of mobile phone owning and usage among the students of valco hall, university of cape coast

It was the intention of the study to find out the intrinsic motivation for the adoption of mobile phone technology by Ghanaian university students. As well the study was aimed at assessing the behavioral characteristics in the use of phones by the Ghanaian students. A total of 103 out of 344 respondents were purposively selected as it involved only those who owned and used phones in 2009. The data collection instrument was the questionnaire, which was self–administered. The description survey design was adopted for the study. The study came out with findings that most respondents used Nokia phones because of its quality. The most widely used service provider was MTN. Most respondents also bought their phones between GH¢40 – GH¢60 and most of the phones were bought by parents for their children (students). The most common billing system used by study participants was the prepaid system with participants recharging weekly and spending less than GH¢10 per month. The most important reason for purchasing a mobile phone was for the students to remain in easy contact with family and friends. Regarding attitudes most students considered information on their phones to be private. Most of the time the respondents put their phones on silent when they were at lectures and most could not do without a mobile phone for a day. It is advisable among other things to cut down on the number of times one recharges units to save money and also cut down on the length of time talking on phone in order to have more time for studies as students.