Research: 48% could not go a day without smartphone
June 27, 2018
Consumers worldwide increasingly depend on connected devices, with 80 per cent reporting digital technology has made a positive impact on their lives. According to the latest State of Digital Lifestyles report from Limelight Networks, a global player in digital content delivery, mobile phones have become such an integral part of daily life that nearly half of consumers surveyed say they could not go a single day without them.
Respondents in ten countries, including 500 UK consumers, were asked how they interact with digital media and the impact of technology in their lives. When asked how long people could part with their favourite digital devices, 48 per cent of global consumers and 37 per cent of consumers in the UK reported they would not be able to stop using their mobile phones for even one day. Laptop and desktop computers were the second most integral technology, with 33 per cent of global respondents reporting they can’t go a day without theirs.
Consumers have yet to widely embrace digital assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, with only 23 per cent of UK respondents currently owning one of these. The main hurdle to adoption is that less than half (45 per cent) of British consumers fully trust digital assistants to provide general information such as weather, news and research. Less than a quarter (23 per cent) fully trust digital assistants for online shopping, and just 20 per cent trust them for home automation.
Additional insights from the report include:
- Security is a top concern when using internet-connected devices. Nearly half (45 per cent) of global consumers are concerned about the privacy of data collected by digital assistants, and 42 per cent worry about security and potential hacking into the devices.
- Entertainment has gone digital, with music leading the way. Globally, 61 per cent of consumers prefer to stream movies and television shows online rather than downloading or using DVDs, and 53 per cent prefer to stream music. Notably, only eight per cent of global consumers still purchase audio CDs.
- Consumers expect high-quality online experiences. Most consumers (88 per cent) are frustrated by the process of accessing and using digital content, with over one-third (37 per cent) noting rebuffering or content stopping playback as their primary frustration.
“Digital interactions play an increasingly important role in society today, making lives more connected and productive. As people become more reliant on these connected devices for information, entertainment, and to simplify everyday tasks, expectations for performance are rising,” said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. “At Limelight, we continue to develop innovative solutions that help content distributors and manufacturers address consumer demands for high-quality, responsive, and secure online experiences.”