Exploring User Experience of Smartphones in Social Media: A Mixed-Method Analysis

ABSTRACT

This study aims to analyze and categorize user experience (UX) of smartphones by utilizing social media data (Twitter). Social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) can be helpful for observing natural UX through the users’ words. It is a potentially valuable source of data that can be used to examine the thoughts of millions of people. To gather UXs of smartphones, mining social media data (Twitter) techniques were used. Collected UXs were categorized according to the product smartness and the relationship between the product smartness and UXs were identified. A total of 19,288 tweets involving the term “smartphone” were collected from 2014.06.01 to 2014.08.31. Among these, a total of 699 tweets were related to UXs of smartphones. In addition, 478 tweets were categorized according to the five dimensions of product smartness (Autonomy, Adaptability, Multi-functionality, Connectivity, and Personalization). Results found that many satisfactory experiences for all dimensions, but there were unsatisfactory experiences associated with the multi-functionality and connectivity. Findings suggest that mining techniques can be used to gather and analyze UX effectively and efficiently. Also, the results of this study can be helpful for understanding user’s implicit needs concerning smartphones, and provide valuable insights for developing smartphones.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2017R1D1A3B03034321) and Hoseo University, South Korea.

Notes on contributors

Ilsun Rhiu

Ilsun Rhiu is currently an assistant professor in the Division of Global Management Engineering at the Hoseo University, South Korea. He received a BS, MS, and PhD in Industrial Engineering from Seoul National University, South Korea. His research interests include Human-Computer Interaction, User-Centered Design, and User Research Method.

Myung Hwan Yun

Myung Hwan Yun is a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at Seoul National University, South Korea. He received a BS and MS in Industrial Engineering from Seoul National University and a PhD in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering from Penn State University, USA. His research interests include Human Factors and Affective Product Design.