Stop (or limit) the ads! So say nearly a third of Americans consistently since 2019. While advertising drives much of the Internet, a substantial number of online adults use ad-blocking apps on their computers, smartphones, or tablets. This MetaFAQs reports on the levels since 2019, on which platforms ad-blocking apps are being used and which market segments use the apps more or less than others. The segments span the vulnerable to the advantaged, and details differences by racial/ethnic groups, employment status, the mix of technology ecosystems in use, and other characteristics.
Seeking health information online
Online adults regularly use connected devices to look up information from news and sports results to health information such as COVID dashboards and remedies. Searching for health information online is a regular activity among nearly half of online adults in the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan, and it has shifted since 2017.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults in the countries surveyed who regularly seek health information online and further details them by age group.
Tracking steps with a smartphone
Regularly walking is a widely accepted way to improve and maintain health and tracking one’s steps is also popular. While there are many ways to track steps – from simple pedometers to fitness trackers and smartwatches, most smartphones also include the ability to track steps.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults in the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan that regularly track their steps with smartphones. It details the trend between 2017 and 2021. It further splits out these active walkers by age group within each country surveyed.
Profile of Americans using Windows PCs
Most online Americans use a Windows PC, although currently reaching 59% is not the same as being at everyone’s fingertips. Slightly older American adults are using Windows PCs, with market penetration somewhat higher among men than women.
This MetaFAQs details two characteristics that separate Windows PC users from the general online adult public – age within gender and the number of home PCs in active use. It also details the declining usage of Windows PCs between 2018 and 2021 by employment status and age group segments, contrasting it with the progress of Apple computers and Chromebooks.
Wearing a smartwatch or fitness tracker
Smartwatches and fitness trackers are about more than athletic pursuits and telling the time. Market penetration has grown, and adoption has expanded beyond the earliest wearables users. The US has higher market penetration than the UK or Germany, and Japan has less than the other three.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan that regularly use a smartwatch or fitness tracker, further split by age group in each country.
The decline of Meta among younger adults
Meta’s three main properties—Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—have been waning in popularity from 2016 to 2021 among online adults. A major contributor to this is the younger generation, especially when it comes to use of Meta’s former namesake, Facebook.
This TUPdate reports on Meta’s active American users of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and any of the three (net) from 2016 to 2021. This report also considers younger online adults (aged 18-24) in the US and Germany.
Technology profile of currently unemployed Americans aged 18-49
The COVID pandemic made clear many socioeconomic inequities between Americans, as the impact of the virus was felt differently in great part depending on their educational attainment, occupation, employment status, and other factors.
This TUPdate focuses on one segment – currently unemployed Americans aged 18-49 – reporting their market size and profiling their usage of connected devices, which devices they do or don’t use, how much they use them, and the intensity of changes since before the pandemic.
Technology Use Among American Seniors 75+
American online seniors aged 75 and older are more active and numerous than may be expected, accounting for ten million Americans. This TUPdate reports on the mixture of connected devices in active use – home PCs, smartphones, tablets, and feature phones, and how many of these they actively use. It also shows which activities these busy seniors do with their devices and how many regularly conduct the given activity. Furthermore, this TUPdate describes which consumer electronics are being used for entertainment purposes and the share of this segment that use wearables or smart homes.
Profile of American enterprise employees using Apple/Windows work computers
How have Apple Macs done in US enterprise? Are certain American enterprise employees more Apple Mac-oriented than others? Are Macs used more in certain employer roles or industries? This TUP analysis reports on the split between Apple and Windows computers by employer role and industry, as well as the trend in same-versus-mixed OS usage among employees in American organizations with 1,000 or more employees.
Device activities among American enterprise employees
Do American enterprise employees use Apple Macs differently than they use Windows PCs? Are their activities different with iPads than with Android tablets, or different with iPhones than Android smartphones? This TUP analysis reports on the most unique activities by platform among American employees in organizations with 1,000 or more employees.