Background: Wireless item trackers such as Apple AirTags or from Tile have reached beyond double-digit market penetration. For technology market leader Apple, the devices hold the promise of extending the depth of user engagement with and reliance on the Apple ecosystem. Location sharing is a double-edged sword, since it increases the risk of a privacy breach while simultaneously offering enhanced convenience.
Approach: This MetaFAQs is based on the responses of 7,537 online adults from the MetaFacts TUP/Technology User Profile 2024 wave. It reports the percentage of online adults using an item tracking device such as an Apple AirTag or Tile. Respondents are profiled by age, gender, generational life phase, detailed employment status, presence of children, household size, use of Apple, Windows, and Android devices, and plans to acquire a wireless item tracker in the next 12 months.
US persists in having fewer employed online adults
The workforce has shifted strongly following the onset of the pandemic, affected by remote working, seesawing employer and national responses, and economic reverberations. In the US, there has been a persistent and noticeable shift from full-time or part-time employment to self-employed or gig working. Among the countries surveyed, Germany has the smallest share of online adults in the labor force.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults employed (full-time or part-time) and those in the labor force (employed, self-employed, or currently unemployed). The data from 2017 through 2023 is split by country: US, Germany, UK, and Japan. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0324_empt] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
Online workforces continue to decline
The labor market status is a major macroeconomic factor in understanding and measuring market demand. Technology products such as computers and smartphones are susceptible to these economic shifts. Fewer workers mean fewer duplicated resources, such as workers using a home-owned computer as well as one that is provided by their employer. Also, a smaller workforce can mean slower economic growth overall, to the extent that there is less earned income in the economy. The advent of gig workers in some countries, many of whom identify as self-employed, has also expanded the labor pool to some extent.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults who are employed full-time, part-time, or self-employed by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0314_empt] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
Profile of Americans who sell things online
Nearly a fourth of online Americans regularly sell things online, making it widespread enough to be of interest, yet rare enough not to be mainstream. The type of people selling things online tend to be younger, from later generations, and gainfully employed.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online Americans who regularly sell things online split by sociodemographic characteristics: employment status, presence of children, age group, generation, gender, and generational life phase. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0306_sell] in TUP Lenses: Activities; User Profile
US trails in employed online users
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
Most device hours are among younger workers
Worldwide, the most active users of connected devices are younger workers. The hours people use devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets ranks second among either younger adults not employed outside of the home or older adults who are employed, varying by country.
This MetaFAQs reports on the mean weekly hours that adults use connected devices by employment status and age group by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0215_ybus] in TUP Lenses: Devices; PCs; Mobile Phones; Tablets; User Profile; Work/Life Balance
Workers are just over half of all online adults, except in China
Between one-half and six-tenths of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, and Japan are working. Among China’s higher-educated elites, the working rate among online adults is higher. In other words, the US has the broadest use of connected technology beyond working adults.
This broad measure focuses on online adults of any age who are gainfully employed, which contrasts with labor force measures. Governmental measures of the active labor force are generally limited to specific age ranges such as ages 16 to 64 and only includes persons reporting that they are actively looking for work.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults currently working full-time, part-time, or self-employed.
Report [TUP_doc_2024_0205_empl] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
Home printer brand user profile
The American home printer market is not monolithic, and there are, instead, differences in who uses home printers and how they use them. Some brands have targeted or attracted certain demographic groups. HP home printers, in particular, are being used by a higher-than-average share of older Americans and retirees, a group less penetrated by Canon. Brother and Epson have a higher-than-average share of college graduates or post-graduate users. Canon and Epson are used more often than average for printing photos and documents from tablets and mobile phones.
This MetaFAQs reports on the demographic profile of American home printer users, highlighting the distinct characteristics of Brother, Canon, Epson, and HP home printer users based on their age, gender, life stage, employment status, and educational attainment. It also identifies the unique printing activities for each major home printer brand. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0129_prep] in TUP Lenses: Printers; Activities; 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
Game playing is widespread, although platform choices vary by generation
Playing games on an active, if casual, basis continues to be widespread, even as the choice of platforms is shifting. The worldwide and American trend away from regular PC use is affecting game playing and entertainment as much as productivity and creative activities. This year marks the first time that more American game players use a game console than a home PC.
This MetaFAQs reports on the number and percentage of online adults who regularly play immersive/action or other games using connected devices: a game console, home PC, gaming PC, primary PC, or smartphone. American adults are detailed by age generation and life phase: comprised of generation with educational and employment status. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0124_gami] in TUP Lenses: Activities, Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing