Popularity and Usage Diversity of Cell Phone Applications among Rural Users in the Cooch Behar District of West Bengal

Consequent upon the emergence of ‘knowledge driven society’, the need of the hour is to orient the rural people in updating their skill and knowledge by utilizing the modern facilities like information and communication technology (ICT) and cell phone will be the key enabler towards the same. In such a research arena, the present study has envisaged to assess the popularity of different applications of cell phone and the diversity of usage of these applications among different types of users. The present study was carried out in two villages of Cooch Behar-II block under Cooch Behar district, West Bengal selected purposively considering the cell phone concentration in the area. The simple random sampling procedure was followed to select the respondents for the present study. The data were collected with the help of a structured interview schedule through a personal interview method. Rank based on mean usage score, Herfindahl Index (HI) of usage diversity and coefficient of correlation were computed to assess the popularity of application of cell phone; usage diversity of cell phone; and relational efficacy of user's socio-personal attributes with the usage diversity of cell phone. The study revealed that 63.64 percent respondents are having their own cell phone and they had used their mobiles mostly for communicating with friends and relatives (voice calls) followed by listening music and seeking information regarding their occupations.