Social Networking and Driving. A Study About Young Greeks

Though mobile phone use is considered a risky behavior while driving and it is even illegal in most countries, it is still very common to see drivers talking or texting, ignoring the fact that they are behind the wheel. According to literature, more than 80% of mobile users under the age of 30 are members of at least one social network and questions arise on whether and how social media affect driving behavior. In this paper, questionnaire answers from 113 Greek drivers are analyzed in order to estimate if young people use social media when driving. Participants provided demographic information, such as sex, age and income, driving characteristics, such as years of driving experience and kilometers traveled per day and information related to smartphone use and social networking activities while performing driving tasks, such as status update, photo uploading or texting. Participants were also asked about their opinion on how phone use affects their driving skills, as well as their willingness to use an application that would turn off their phone while being behind the wheel. Results show that although the majority of them think that their driving performance is affected by smartphone use, less than half were willing to use a "phone-off" application and more than 50% tend to interact through social media, more or less frequently. Results are also statistically analyzed, with regard to differences between men and women, group ages and other personal characteristics.