Mobile phone application users tend to be younger and more educated than non-app users, according to Pew Research Center findings.
Only 35 percent of adults have cell phones with apps, while 24 percent of adults actually use the apps, the research found.
Though many adults have apps, the study showed one-third of adults with apps do not use them.
But Jared Edwards, political science senior, said he uses every app he owns.
“These apps complement certain things about the user,” Edwards said.
The University jumped on the bandwagon in 2009 and began researching ways to create an iPhone app. After two years of planning, the official LSU app was released this August.
Though the process was tedious, Price said he is happy with the results.
“There was a real commitment from everyone from the provost to the chancellor to do this, that they see the value of this project.” Price said.
The app is currently free on iTunes and has nearly 12,000 downloads so far, Price said.
“We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from students and faculty who have downloaded the app,” Price said. “With that, we are working to develop new processes like a Campus
Transit live map, more course information and maybe even a walking tour of campus. The possibilities are endless.”
Android and BlackBerry LSU apps are still being developed, Price said.
Apps have heavily impacted today’s culture, said Morgan McAlister, business management freshman.
“People are sometimes playing on apps instead of paying attention to you when you are talking to them,” McAlister said. “But then apps make it easier to communicate with e-mails and other things.”
Other students are completely against using applications.
“I just don’t feel the need to use them,” said John Alty, accounting freshman. “I don’t really like them.”
According to the study, 34 percent of adults play games on their cell phones. Alty said these applications cause students to waste their time.
“I don’t get as bored easily,” Alty said. “My friends use them to play games in class, and they will use them for at least 45 minutes to an hour and a half every day.”
Other consumers, like criminology professor Edward Shihadeh, do not see the point of spending money on a smart phone.
“I have a dinosaur LG flip phone,” Shihadeh said. “I have a computer at home and one at work, so there is no need for me to do anything on the go.”
Vivien Norris, accounting sophomore, said she uses apps to reconnect with friends.
“My favorites are Facebook and Words with Friends,” Norris said. “I get to see what my friends are doing, and it lets me get out of focusing on class for a few minutes.”
“I downloaded an app that converts Microsoft documents to PDF files so I can see them on my iPad,” McAlister said. “My favorite app is my Chase banking app because I can check it easily.”
Thirty-six percent of people older than 50 do not know how to use an app, according to the study, but Price said apps can be cross-generational.
“Last year, I was at a LSU baseball game and there was a lady sitting with her husband,” Price said. “Both had iPhones, and the lady had at least six pages of apps that she was using. They were about 60 years old.”
 
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Contact Kittu Pannu at [email protected]