Are smartphones mostly being used by higher income Americans? Is there a digital divide by ethnic/Hispanic group within upper and lower income groups? This MetaFAQs looks at the market penetration of smartphones, PCs, tablets, and feature/basic cell phones among White/non-Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, Asian/non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and other groups.
Continue reading “Key device usage by ethnic/Hispanic income group and household income [MetaFAQs]”Key home PC trends [Highlights]
Home PC Penetration
The home PC has been a central part of the American technology user’s world for years, and while remaining so for many, the home PC is slowly losing its primacy among some market segments.
Home PCs have been challenged by the emerging use of smartphones and tablets, not only among younger Americans. Older Americans have also rapidly adopted smartphones and are starting to discover how to use them well. Home PC makers, software developers, and service providers have worked hard to keep the home PC as a central device, or at least one that is included.
The home PC is not down and out – not by a long shot. The humble PC is in use by most online Americans. In 2020, 75% of online adults in the US actively used a home PC. From 2015 to 2019, this level was effectively flat at 80%.
Continue reading “Key home PC trends [Highlights]”Why do Nextdoor users say “get off my lawn!”? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 7, 2020
Users of the hyper-local social network Nextdoor have developed a reputation distinct from Facebook or Instagram users. This MetaFAQs details the generational age distribution of American adults that sometimes use Nextdoor, only use Nextdoor instead of other major social networks, as well as those who actively use Facebook, Instagram, or any major social network.
Continue reading “Why do Nextdoor users say “get off my lawn!”? [MetaFAQs]”Work PC and tablet use among female American employees varies by employment role [MetaFAQs]
Do most female American employees use employer-provided PCs? Which employment roles have higher use than others? This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of American female employees that regularly use an employer-provided PC or tablet, split by work desktops and work notebooks/laptops.
Continue reading “Work PC and tablet use among female American employees varies by employment role [MetaFAQs]”Key device usage by ethnic/Hispanic group and educational status [MetaFAQs]
Does having a college education or not coupled with ethnic/Hispanic group make a difference in the market penetration of key connected devices? Do White/non-Hispanic college graduates have higher levels of device use then Black/non-Hispanic or other groups? Does this vary by device type? This MetaFAQs reports on the active penetration of smartphones, PCs, tablets, and feature/basic cell phones among White/non-Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, Asian/non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and other non-Hispanic American adults.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Most home notebooks never leave home [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, October 2, 2020
Notebooks are designed to be light and portable. But, how many home notebooks don’t leave home? How many home notebooks aren’t used in a coffee shop, library, public place, school, or workplace? This MetaFAQs looks at the mobile activity of home-owned notebooks by the locations they are used.
In our TUP/Technology User Profile 2020 survey, we found that the majority of home notebooks are only used within the home. This is based on 8,034 online adults across Japan, the UK, Germany, the US, China, and India. Although home notebooks are sold with the ability to be carried to many locations, most stay home, only venturing between rooms of the user’s home.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Key device usage by ethnic/Hispanic group [MetaFAQs]
Is there a divide in which ethnic/Hispanic group of Americans use connected devices? Do some groups use smartphones or PCs at a higher or lower rate than others? Do tablets or feature/basic cell phones have a higher or lower penetration rate? This MetaFAQs reports on the usage of connected devices by type among online Americans in five self-reported groups: White/non-Hispanic, Black/non-Hispanic, Asian/non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Other/non-Hispanic.
About MetaFAQs
MetaFAQs are answers to frequently asked questions about technology users. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.
Which age groups use the most PCs? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, September 23, 2020
Do all Americans use PCs at the same rate? Are younger American adults using home-owned, work, or school PCs at a higher rate than other adults, or at a lower rate? This MetaFAQs details the active usage of a PC owned by anyone among American adults split by age cohort: GenZ, Millennials, GenX, Boomers, and Silent + Greatest.
Continue reading “Which age groups use the most PCs? [MetaFAQs]”Which age groups use the most home PCs? [MetaFAQs]
Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, September 23, 2020
Do all Americans use home PCs at the same rate? Are younger American adults using home-owned PCs at a higher rate than other adults, or at a lower rate? This MetaFAQs details the active usage of a PC acquired with personal funds by American adults split by age cohort: GenZ, Millennials, GenX, Boomers, and Silent + Greatest.
Continue reading “Which age groups use the most home PCs? [MetaFAQs]”The work from home privilege [TUPdate, MetaFacts Pulse Survey]
By Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts
Working from home. While it is a blessing for some and may feel like a curse for others, only the few get the privilege. Being able to work from home during widespread public health safety shutdowns has sustained employment for many employees. It has also brought new challenges for those with school-age children or insufficient technology. It has also brought about faster adoption of certain technology products and services while revealing long-present sociological differences. The differences may persist while many of the technological changes will be temporary and evolutionary, not revolutionary.
One in four online Americans are working from home
As of May 14th, 2020, one fourth of online Americans (26%) were working at home. This represents 60% of online Americans employed full-time or part-time on May 14th, 2020. Most of these only started working from home recently. Almost half (48%) of employed online American adults started working from home after February 2020.
Rise in online Americans not employed
Also, as of May 14th, 43% of online Americans were employed full-time or part-time, 8% were self-employed, and 19% reported being temporarily or seasonally unemployed.
Note that 19% rate is not a directly comparable measure to the widely followed U3 unemployment rate from the BLS, which represents active jobseekers. Instead, it is closer in methodology to the U6 rate, which includes discouraged and unemployed workers not actively seeking employment. However, since this survey only included online respondents, offline or disconnected Americans are not included in these results. Their inclusion would make the overall percentage of American adults working from home somewhat lower.
Working at home is strongest among upper socioeconomic groups
Working at home is strongly associated with socioeconomic factors.
A higher share of those with higher educational attainment and household income are working from home. For those with graduate degrees, the rate (56%) is double the national average. In stark contrast, only 7% of employees whose highest educational attainment is high school are working from home, and only 14% of those who have completed some college.
Similarly, higher paid employees have a higher work-from-home rate, at 42% for those with a household income of $85,000 or higher.
Salary and education only two factors explaining higher work-at-home rates. Many occupations do not lend themselves well to working at home. Also, some employers have not embraced having employees work remotely nor have some employers prepared adequately.
The work from home privileged group – from more to even more
The remote workplace has shifted even further in the five weeks between our April 2nd and May 14th surveys, especially for higher socioeconomic groups. Overall, the work-at-home rate grew somewhat from just over half (54%) to 60% of American employees.
Two measures of socioeconomic status – educational attainment and household income – are positively associated with the fastest-growing groups to work at home. The rates of post-graduate employees working at home has grown from 80% to 93% Also, adults in households with incomes of $85,000 or higher have risen slightly from two-thirds (67%) to 71%.
Adults in homes with children have also grown in their work-at-home rates, rising from two-thirds (67%) to 77%.
Technology usage shifts among the work-at-homes
PC use is dramatically different among American employees working from home than those not working from home. Among employees working from home, the mean number of weekly hours is 58.3, substantially more than those not working from home, 22.2 hours per week. A PC is necessary for many work-related tasks, from spreadsheets to collaborative documents.
One of the fastest growing activities – video conferencing – is possible with a smartphone. Despite this, smartphone hours are not measurably higher among those working from home than those not working from home.
Looking ahead
The underlying socioeconomic differences we have seen exposed so far in the pandemic are unlikely to change. They are systemic and have been in place for generations. Further reinforcing these persistent differences, technology has enabled many employees to work from home, although primarily those upper socioeconomic groups. These differences will further separate the haves from the have-nots.
One major technological shift has been around the adoption of videoconferencing. As I have reported in other MetaFacts Pulse surveys earlier this year, groups from seniors to employees and parents have rapidly adopted video conferencing for both personal and work-related calls and conferences. These groups have not been quite as quick to adopt any new technology they had never used. Instead, most are using whatever technology they already had in place, such as a home PC. There has been some supplementing of in-home technology with better webcams and other small peripherals. With economic insecurity both among employers and citizens, many have delayed making capital purchases. Very few employees, so far, have been assisted with employer-provided technology such as new PCs, printers, or VPNs.
There is still much uncertainty today about whether businesses will continue to allow employees to work from home after such time governmental health authorities say it is safe to have workers return their previous workplaces.
Within three years, presuming the virus is no longer causing a pandemic, I expect only half of today’s video users to be regularly doing this practice. That may seem like a dramatic drop. I expect a retreat from video as people spend time again at their workplaces or schools. They will be having in-person meetings again, taking the place of work video meetings. Or, many will be meeting in person with friends or family instead of making that FaceTime or Zoom call.
That will still leave a substantial number of people working remotely, collaborating electronically, and connecting through video calls or conferences. The genie is out of the bottle.
About TUPdates
The information referred to in this special TUPdate is based on independent research conducted by MetaFacts.
TUPdates feature analysis of current or essential technology topics. The research results showcase the TUP/Technology User Profile study, MetaFacts’ survey of a representative sample of online adults profiling the full market’s use of technology products and services. The current wave of TUP is TUP/Technology User Profile 2020, which is TUP’s 38th annual. TUPdates may also include results from previous waves of TUP.
Current subscribers may use the comprehensive TUP datasets to obtain even more results or tailor these results to fit their chosen segments, services, or products. As subscribers choose, they may use the TUP inquiry service, online interactive tools, or analysis previously published by MetaFacts.
On request, interested research professionals can receive complimentary updates through our periodic newsletter. These include MetaFAQs – brief answers to frequently asked questions about technology users – or TUPdates – analysis of current and essential technology industry topics. To subscribe, contact MetaFacts.