Survey: Uni Würzburg in the Digital Check
This article was originally published in German. The English version is an automatic translation and may contain errors. The German original is authoritative.
Whether learning, shopping or dating – digitalisation has long shaped our everyday lives. Hardly any area of life gets by without apps and digital devices anymore. Everything is faster, more practical, more networked. But what about us students – a generation that grew up with smartphones and for whom, especially since the Corona pandemic, Zoom meetings have long been second nature?
Digital tools are indispensable in studies. Scripts, online libraries, Moodle & Co. make many things easier. From quick research to flexible learning, they are helpful. Digital is above all one thing: efficient! How much space is there really left for the analogue, or is university life almost completely digitalised? To find out, we asked you.
Around 100 students voted in our survey, with clear favourites, but also some surprises. Between WhatsApp and phone calls, tablet and notepad, mobile phone and camera, it becomes clear: we live digitally, but not without analogue lifelines.
Survey results
Before you read the survey results, one small note: the results of this survey are based on a sample and are therefore not representative of the entire student body, but merely serve as a guide. And now: welcome to the everyday life of JMU students.
Photos: mobile phone instead of camera
No surprise: 102 of you take pictures with your smartphone, only 7 still reach for a camera. Possibly because your mobile is always with you and because selfies with a camera would be impractical anyway.
Reading: PDFs overtake books
When it comes to learning and reading, digital PDFs are ahead at 60 % compared to printed books at 40 %. A clear trend towards the digital – but not a decisive victory. The printed book remains. Possibly because it doesn't flicker in your eyes as much or because it simply feels better.
Meeting friends stays analogue
There's no debate here: 98 % of you prefer to meet in person, only 2 % rely on phone calls or video calls. Friendships thrive on the analogue. Good to know that pizza nights and shared kitchen spaces haven't been replaced by Zoom just yet.
Communication: messages before calls
When it comes to important messages, 46 % choose chat, 30 % reach for the phone, 24 % speak face-to-face. You could conclude from this: does Generation Z prefer typing to speaking?
And yet: paper hasn't completely disappeared. Perhaps because handwritten notes stick in your memory better. Or because sometimes it's just quicker.
Note-taking: tablet instead of notepad
The answer is clear: 83 % of you prefer typing on a laptop or tablet, only 17 % still reach for paper and pen. You could say it plainly: the good old notepad has almost had its day, digital devices are now the norm.
Organisation: apps beat paper
When it comes to organisation, most of you clearly opt for the digital: 52 % of you use apps, 31 % stick with an analogue notebook, 16 % mix both, and 1 % doesn't organise themselves at all – respect for that courage to embrace chaos.
The result is clear: appointments and tasks end up on your smartphone more often than in a printed calendar. And yet almost a third still trust pen and paper.
The overall picture is clear: university life in Würzburg is characterised by digital technology. Tablets, apps and smartphones determine how we take notes, organise ourselves, read and communicate. The mobile phone has displaced the camera, chats are more important than calls. But: the analogue hasn't completely disappeared; it's currently experiencing a small renaissance. Many students report that they can remember content better when they write it down by hand.
A notebook, a printed script or index cards on the desk feel more tangible and sometimes less stressful than constant screen time. Especially when meeting friends, the analogue beats the digital by a mile – and that's perhaps the most beautiful finding of the survey.
In the end, this comparison isn't really about better or worse. Studying in 2025 is already hybrid: a bit of laptop, a bit of paper, sometimes a video call, sometimes meeting in the mensa. Perhaps that's exactly the key. The freedom to use from both worlds what fits best at any given moment.