Home computers – those acquired with personal funds – are used by most employees for work-related activities. Americans and employees in Germany, the UK, Japan, and China peaked in 2021 and subsided in 2022. This MetaFAQs reports on employees using a home computer for work-related activities. It details the work activities with home computers, from communication to collaboration and productivity. As a historical contrast, it includes comparable results from the 1987 TUP/Technology User Profile wave.
Hybrid work from home arrangement likely to continue
Employees and employers have made some of the most substantial changes since the pandemic, with many quickly shifting to working from home. The most significant expansion has been in hybrid working arrangements, unlikely to change within a year. This MetaFAQs reports on online employees, their frequency of working from home before the pandemic, and their expectations in a year.
Fading viral boost to feature phones stalls smartphone sovereignty
Smartphones have nearly reached their market saturation point. Responses to the pandemic and economy boosted the use of feature phones above their long-trending decline. This MetaFacts reports on the penetration rate of smartphones and feature phones among online adults in the US, Germany, UK, Germany, and China. It also details the overlap of smartphone and feature phone use.
Trends in webcam and video calls/meetings usage
Are video calls and meetings as widespread as tech media implies? How much have webcams and video calls and meetings reached into the everyday experience of the average online adult? This MetaFAQs reports on the usage trend since before the pandemic for online adults in the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan. It further splits video calling/conferencing by smartphone, home PC, or work PC. Furthermore, because change has not affected everyone the same, it details the trend among life stage segments – employment status, age group, and presence of children.
Work/Life Balance TUP Lens [Highlights]
With the pandemic, many more employees are working from home. This TUP Highlights Report profiles employees by how often they work from home and their expectations of the near future. It profiles them demographically, by their type of employer, their connected devices, and their work-related activities.
Highlights: Activities
What we do paints a richer picture than what we carry or own. All computers are not used the same and nor are smartphones or tablets. Each user has their preference about how they spend their time. Also, each user expresses their choices about which connected devices they turn to for each type of activity. While some see their tablets as passive movie screens, others rely on them as communication hubs. Some users prefer to shop on a computer, while others rely more on their smartphones.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: main activities across all tech devices, major activities for each device type, activities unique to which device type, cross-device activities, the profile of activity type users, major activities for a market segment, home entertainment activities, the profile by key activities, and listening activities.
Communication TUP Lens Highlights
During the pandemic, employees suddenly working from home accelerated their use of videoconferencing, home computers, and other connected devices. Similarly, those not employed outside the home sought ways to stay connected with others or help their students continue their education. Communication activities ranging from videoconferencing to video calls, email, group chats, and text messaging are at the heart of these connections. Market adoption has not been assured nor evenly distributed, as only some segments adopted behaviors they continued. Meanwhile, other segments dallied with new communication methods and then returned to their old ways.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: communication activities by device type, communication activities among those working from home, devices used for work-related communication, and top communication activities.
Profile of Americans who bought a home PC during the pandemic
The pandemic brought with it a lot of changes to how Americans live and work. Many had to adjust to working from home for the first time, and this often meant a new need for tech—especially home PCs. 56.4 million Americans—26% of all online American adults—bought a home PC during the pandemic. This MetaFAQs profiles those who bought a home PC during the pandemic by several critical demographic and behavioral factors distinctive from the average American online adult: age and gender; employment status; presence of children; household size; life stage (age, employment status, presence of children); number of home PCs; work from home status (current, expected, and before the pandemic); and
brand of home PC. Report [TUP_doc_2022_0506_pand] in TUP Lenses: Work/Life Balance, PCs.
Profile of Active American Siri or HomePod users
Apple’s Siri is enjoying steady progress where other voice assistants have not. A third or more of younger Americans – male and female – are active users. Working parents are also being listened to, if not by their children, then at least by Siri. This MetaFAQs report profiles active users of Apple Siri or who have HomePods by a range of distinctive characteristics: age group, employment status, life stage, technology ecosystems, and others.
Digital health usage among Americans
Digital technology has empowered people worldwide to be more involved with and aware of their health, with a growing and rich collection of devices and information sources. However, has supply outpaced the demand? This TUPdate reports on the active usage of critical health devices and health-oriented activities. It details the number of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Germany who track their steps using a smartphone, uses a smartwatch or fitness tracker, or regularly search for health information online.