Cisco study on Internet habits of Gen Y population reveals how the need to stay connected drives every facet of their lives: from work to shopping, friendships to family
SAN JOSE, Calif. – December 12, 2012 – It’s 6 a.m. Your morning alarm shrills piercingly. You sit up groggily, stretch and yawn. It’s time to get ready for school or work – what do you do next? Get dressed? Take a shower? Brush your teeth?
Ninety percent of Gen Y surveyed worldwide said they check their smartphones for updates in email, texts and social media sites, often before they get out of bed, according to the 2012 Cisco® Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR.) There are 206 bones in the human body, and the smartphone could plausibly be considered the 207th for Gen Y. Two out of five said they “would feel anxious, like part of me is missing,” if they couldn’t use their smartphones to stay connected.
Based on a survey conducted by InsightExpress of 1,800 college students and young professionals aged 18 to 30 across 18 countries, the report examines how Generation Y uses the Internet and mobile devices to connect with the world around them. The report reveals their behavior and attitudes about the creation, access and privacy of the enormous amounts of data being generated daily by smartphones, sensors, video cameras, monitors and other connected devices.
Mobile devices are just the beginning. As more and more people, processes, data and things join and interact on the “Internet of Everything,” the volume and potential value of all the data generated by those connections grow exponentially.
Key Findings of the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report
The new morning routine: toothpaste, toilet paper and texting
Gen Y does not want to miss anything. Checking their mobile devices for text, email and social media updates is how they start their day – often even before getting out of bed. For this generation, information is real-time, all the time.
– Nine of 10 respondents globally will get dressed, brush their teeth, and want to check their smartphones as part of the morning ritual for getting ready for school or work.
– For employers, this is meaningful because it demonstrates that the workforce of the future is more agile, more informed and more responsive than any previous generation. They live to connect and communicate.
Me and my smartphone. From morning through night, Gen Y stays constantly connected.
– More than one in four Gen Y respondents (29 percent) say they check their smartphones so constantly that they lose count.
– Globally, one in five checks a smartphone for email, text and social media updates at least every 10 minutes. In the U.S., two out of five check at least once every 10 minutes.
– One-third of respondents check their smartphones at least once every 30 minutes; in the U.S., that figure jumps to more than 50 percent.
Connected or addicted?
– Sixty percent of Gen Yers subconsciously or compulsively check their smartphones for emails, texts or social media updates.
– Of those, women are more driven to connect: 85 percent of women versus 63 percent of men find themselves often compulsively checking their smartphone for text, emails or social media updates.
– Over 40 percent of respondents would go through a “withdrawal” effect and “would feel anxious, like part of me was missing,” if they couldn’t check their smartphones constantly.
– Of those compulsive smart phone users, 60 percent wish they didn’t feel so compelled.
They’re everywhere!
(Courtesy Isaac On Tech)
Smartphones are used everywhere, even in the most private of places. The craving to stay connected means that the lines between work and social life/family life are blurring. People check for work updates and communicate at all hours from every place imaginable. Time is elastic: For Generation Y there are no clear markers between “the workday” and personal time – both blend and overlap throughout the day and night.
Is romance dead? Globally, 3 out of 4 respondents use smartphones in bed.
– Don’t forget to wash your hands: Over a third use smartphones in the bathroom.
– Set a place at the table: Almost half of the global respondents (46 percent) said they text, email and check social media during meals with family and friends. More than half of American respondents (56 percent) use smartphones during social meals.
Watch out! Dangerous as it is, almost one in five admits to texting while driving.
About the Study
The third in an annual series, the 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report, was commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress, an independent market research firm based in the United States. The global study consists of two surveys: one focused on college students and workers aged 18 to 30, and the second focused on IT professionals. Each survey includes 100 respondents from each of 18 countries: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, India, China, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
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