| 85% of the nation's
mothers age 21 and over use a cellphone in 2004, up from 75 percent
in 2002, according to preliminary results from the 2004 Technology
User Profile report released today by MetaFacts.
"The cellphone is the most popular technology product for moms,
but not the only popular one," said MetaFacts Principal Analyst Dan
Ness. "In their homes, most moms also have a home PC (71.2%), a
workplace computer user (57.1%), a videogame console (50.5%) such as
a Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Gamecube, Sony Playstation, or Sega
Dreamcast, or a digital camera (42.6%).”
The study also found that moms are often pioneers in the use of
several up-and-coming technology activities. Moms are more likely
than the average American household to use a PC owned by a school
(20.2% compared with a 12.4% national average), to use a computer to
make a home movie (3.2% compared with 2.2%), to order pay-per-view
on TV (16.7% versus 12.1%), use a PC owned by a library, cybercafé,
church or kiosk (13.4% compared with 9.8%), and to use a Handheld
computer or PDA, such a Palm or Microsoft Windows Pocket PC (16.6%
versus 12.3% nationwide).
The study also found that single mothers have a lower use of
technology than two-parent families, yet are still ahead of the
national average in using technology products.
"Single moms have found ways to use
technology for entertainment, but are less likely than other moms to
own a home computer, digital camera, or use a broadband high-speed
Internet connection," said MetaFacts Principal Analyst Dan Ness.
"Instead, they are more likely to own videogame systems and cellcams,
and to use a PC owned by a school or cybercafé. “
Of the mothers who do not own a computer at home, the main stated
roadblocks to purchasing one were a lack of experience in buying
consumer electronics and that consumer electronics are more
complicated than they need to be.
Other findings from the report include: -- The five major metro
areas with the highest percentage of Moms using home PCs are Orange
County, CA (90%), Hartford, CT (87%), Fort Lauderdale, FL (87%),
Austin-San Marcos, TX (85%) and Monmouth-Ocean, NJ (83%).
The full report, Technology User Profile 2004 Annual Edition,
will be released to subscribers later in 2004. Technology User
ProfileTM (TUP) is a syndicated research study used by
leading technology companies to track the adoption of technology
products and services, including sizing, segmentation, profiling,
and analysis. Conducted continuously since 1983, TUP is the
longest-running, comprehensive study of consumer technology use in
the workplace and home. The study has expanded to include software,
printers, telecommunications, cellphones, handheld computers,
Internet usage, gaming & entertainment systems and other consumer
electronics. Companies use TUP to analyze the US market in a variety
of dimensions while obtaining results that are statistically
projectable and balanced to represent the US population. The 2004
Annual Edition preliminary results are based on responses from
32,130 households drawn to be representative of all American
households, of which 10,160 had a mother age 21 or older with
children 18 and under in the home. Statistics from sample surveys
are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. |
