Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 22, 2024
Summary
Generative AI has received much attention, and much of the hyperbole around widespread adoption rests on the assumption that people will suddenly become creative. A more likely adoption scenario is that the users already actively creating content will be the first to incorporate any AI into their workflows.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults worldwide and in the US who regularly do any of a set of selected creative activities—creating graphics or presentations or using professional creative software—further split by whether the activities are for personal or work-related needs. This is split by device type, age, and generation and trended from 2020 to 2023.
No single device type is used by creatives
- Four in nine online adults regularly do any of a set of creative activities – creating graphics or presentations or using professional creative software
- Half of these users (22% of online adults) regularly use a home computer for these creative activities
- Work computers being used for creative activities only make up 15% of online adults
- A small share actively uses more than one type of device
No specific creative activity towers above others
- None of the specific creative activities selected for this analysis stand out as being the single “killer app” creative activity
- More adults use their primary home computer for creative activities than employer-provided computers. This is partly due to the turmoil following the pandemic, when many remote workers provided their home computers for work instead of working for an employer who provided a computer.
Creatives are younger than the average online adult
- Actively creative adults are younger than the online population
- There is a slightly youthful skew to those who use a smartphone for their creative activities
Millennials are the largest generation of creatives
- The largest generation of creatives are millennial adults, especially for those using employer-provided computers
- Most smartphone creatives are Gen Z or Millennials
- Work PC creatives have a smaller share of Gen Z adults in part because Gen Z adults have a lower than average share using an employer-provided computer. Many are in occupations less as oriented toward use of a work computer.
American creatives rely on computers
- The highest share of Americans who regularly do creative activities use their primary PC
- The share of creatives who use a smartphone for their creative activities is larger than the share who use an employer-provided computer
- Although computers dominate creative activities, the use of a primary PC or a home PC for these activities has declined since 2020
Creative activities are dominated by Americans under age 45
- Americans aged 18 to 44 have the highest share of those who regularly do creative activities
- There was a burst of creative activity in 2021, especially among Americans aged 35 to 44. However, this has since subsided and returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Employed, educated, and in a later generation spell higher creative activity
- The highest share of online adults regularly doing creative activities is among Gen Z or millennial adults who are college graduates, employed, or students
- Millennial Americans, even those employed or highly educated, have started to show a decline in regularly doing creative activities
Seventy-five million Americans regularly do creative activities
- In 2023, 75 million Americans regularly used any of their connected devices for any of a set of creative activities. This is down from a peak of 82.2 million in 2021.
- 45.9 million used their primary PC in 2023, down from a peak of 51.3 million in 2021
- The number of home PC creatives continues to outnumber those using a smartphone, although the gap has been narrowing
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 2023, which is TUP’s 41st annual.
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Indexing
Lenses: Activities, User Profile
Tables: ACTS_CREAxDEVTYPE, AGExCREATIVITY, ACTS_CREAxDEV_TYPE, AGEGENxCREATIVITY, GEN_PHASExANY_ACT_CREATSEL, AGECATSxANY_ACT_CREATSEL, DEV_TYPExANY_ACT_CREATSEL, DEV_TYPExANY_ACT_CREATSEL
Tags: Activities, Age, Age Generations, Age group, Baby Boomers, Boomers, Business market, Commercial, Creative class, Creativity, Devices, Fun, Gen AI, Gen X, Gen Z, Generative AI, Graphics, Market penetration, Millennials, PC activities, Penetration, Personal activities, Presentations, Silent, Smartphone activities, Tablet activities, Work PCs, Work-related activities
Waves: TUP 2020, TUP 2021, TUP 2022, TUP 2023
Item: TUP_doc_2024_0122_crea
Creative-activities-niche-may-underpin-AI-for-some-TUP-2023-TUP_doc_2024_0122_crea-20240413