Globally, four in ten to six in ten online adults are working full-time or part-time. The use of online devices has broadened well beyond employed persons to include adults with a wide variety of employment statuses: retired, students, self-employed, unemployed, or otherwise not employed outside of the home. Among the countries surveyed, the US has the lowest share of online adults employed full-time or part-time.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults employed full-time or part-time. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0219_empl] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
Remote workers pay their own phone bills
Most remote workers cover their smartphone costs, even for work use. That is true regardless of whether they use their smartphones for work-related activities. For a fraction of workers whose fees are curtailed by the employer, workers in the UK have the highest share of being supported for their 2nd smartphone, with workers in Germany being a close second. Workers in Japan have the highest share of reimbursement for their primary smartphone. This compares to the related finding that home computers used for work are also primarily paid for by the worker, not the employer.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online workers– full-time, part-time, or self-employed– who have their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd smartphone’s fees paid for or reimbursed by their employer, for the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0207_empc] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; Work/Life Balance
Younger adults turn to used or refurbished tech
Younger adults are more likely to be sporting a used or refurbished device than older adults. This is especially true in the US, Germany, and the UK. Some of this practice is due to current socioeconomic challenges among younger adults.
This MetaFAQ reports on the percentage primary devices that are used or refurbished, including a smartphone, feature phone, computer, tablet, or game console. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0203_refu] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; User Profile; Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing
The top American page makers
The most active users of printers are generations in the middle, even while overall printer penetration is higher among earlier generations. Older millennial Americans have the very highest share of those who print more than 100 pages per month. Socioeconomic groups with higher incomes, further educational attainment, or children in the household include some of the busiest printer users.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of Americans printing 100 or more pages per month, split by generation and detailing penetration among many historically advantaged and disadvantaged socioeconomic groups. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0202_page] in TUP Lenses: Printers; User Profile
Printer market highlights and trends
The printer market enjoyed an early pandemic bump, but the long-term decline in printer use has returned, following the decline in computer use and the increase in smartphone, cloud, and social network usage. The latest generation – Gen Z – has not embraced printing, and when they do print, it’s often with a borrowed printer or printing service. A focus on certain groups of productivity and classic printing activities may renew attention to printing.
This TUPdate presentation highlights trends in the market demand for printers and printing, drawing on results from TUP in 2010 to the present, which are based on surveys of over 105,000 American online adults. In addition to printer-specific brands and printing activities, it includes the long-term trends affecting printers. These trends include: the growing shift to smartphone use, the declining use of personal computers, and the habits and preferences of later generations (Gen Z) versus those of earlier generations (Boomers and Silent Generation). It provides a review of printers in the market, who’s using them, why they’re using them (or not), and how forces in the economy and long-term trends in technology usage have an impact on the printer market. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0125_prtr] in TUP Lenses: Printers; Activities; User Profile
Youth using used smartphones
Economic pressures have supported younger adults, often with lower employment rates and limited funds, in turning toward acquiring technology from friends, family, or the refurbished device market. Refurbished or used smartphones are more widely used in the UK than in many other countries. Usage is especially high among adults aged 18 to 24 as compared to other age groups, a finding that is consistent across the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China. Generally, the use of a used/refurbished smartphone shrinks with age.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of smartphone users who are using a used/refurbished smartphone by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0121_yref] in TUP Lenses: Devices; Mobile Phones; User Profile
Youth versus experience: the new/used computer divide
Employers are saddling younger adults with used/refurbished computers. Over one-third of American adults aged 18 to 24 actively using an employer-provided PC are using one previously used by someone else. In the UK, that rate among younger adults is nearly as high. Older adults don’t have as high a rate.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of PC users actively using a used/refurbished computer by computer ownership and age group within the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1101_used] in TUP Lenses: PCs; Mobile Phones; User Profile
Most employers have employees BYOD
Most employers have employees BYOD – The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped many established practices. During this period, many employees transitioned to remote work, leaning on familiar consumer technologies. Consequently, Zoom became a popular choice for virtual meetings over platforms like Webex, which are more corporate-centric. For document collaboration, many opted for Google Docs over more enterprise-focused cloud solutions. Regarding hardware, many employees utilized their personal smartphones and computers. This shift caught numerous employers by surprise. Adapting quickly wasn’t feasible for all, leading some to permit employees to use personal devices. Eventually, facilitating workers with company-approved devices would require careful planning, time, and resources. Many employers acquiesced despite increased security risks and management costs, shifting much of this burden to employees. In light of these developments, the concept of “”bring your own device”” (BYOD) seemed more like “buy your own device.”
This MetaFAQs reports on the number of online employees who use a home-owned computer for work-related activities as compared to the number who use an employer-provided computer in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1021_byod] in TUP Lenses: PCs; User Profile; Activities; Work/Life Balance
The only set of connected devices Americans use
Since 2018 and through the pandemic, fewer online Americans have been using computers, game consoles, feature phones, and tablets. Smartphones, already near saturation levels, have continued to increase market penetration.
Is the smartphone headed towards being the last device standing, or is there some other device combination that is more widely used?
This TUPdate looks at the market penetration of key devices – computers, smartphones, feature phones, game consoles, and tablets – among American adults. Beyond their overall penetration rates, this analysis dives deeper into identifying the device combinations used by three of four American adults, and profiling who uses them.
Notebook/laptop usage by socioeconomic groups
Older Americans have discovered laptops as they increasingly see the appeal of mobile computing. Americans working from home had a momentary surge in laptop usage while working at home.
Market penetration rates have dropped to pre-pandemic levels or below. Historically disadvantaged groups have had the sharpest decline in active laptop use.
This TUPdate looks at the profile of American adults who currently use a notebook/laptop along several lines: the socioeconomic group they are part of, their life stage, employment status, and age.