Fun – MetaFacts TUP Client Portal

February 22, 2024March 11, 2024

The size of the active creative class

Renewed attention on AI (Artificial Intelligence) includes substantial promises to enhance the creative output of everyday users, something millions of people are already doing. Decades before widespread AI capabilities were incorporated into apps or hardware or even touted as feature enhancements, creative activities have been a regular part of many computer users’ lives and careers. The earliest adopters of any AI technology – and those that will continue to use and value the services – will be the already active creators. Non-creatives will show some initial curiosity, followed by disengagement. The extent of AI use by non-creatives will be is as a free or bundled enhancement service.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults who regularly create graphics or presentations or use professional creative software. Each activity is further split by personal versus work-related use and age generation. The research results are based on 12,003 US, German, UK, and Japanese respondents. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0222_crea] in TUP Lenses: Activities; User Profile; Devices

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January 30, 2024March 26, 2024

Game console usage sags among each generation; not game over among Gen Z

Game consoles have been a fixture among a sizable portion of adults for decades, although each earlier generation continues to lose interest. Since 2018, fewer adults in later generations have actively used a game console with each passing year.

This MetaFAQs reports on the multi-year change in the percentage of online adults in the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, and China who actively use a game console, split by age generation. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0130_cont] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Activities; Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing; Home Entertainment

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January 24, 2024April 15, 2024

Game playing is widespread, although platform choices vary by generation

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 24, 2024

Summary

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.

Newer generations, focused platforms

That game playing is tilted toward younger generations may come as no surprise, although the choice of platforms varies by generations
Gaming PCs are highly skewed towards Gen Z and millennials, with these two generations comprising almost 90% of the active base of adult users
At the other end of the spectrum, boomers make up effectively the same relative share (12%) of adults playing games on connected devices, smartphones (12%), home computers (13%), and their primary PCs (11%)
It’s interesting that Gen X embraces game consoles at twice the rate of using a gaming PC. This reflects a growing inertia among Gen X adults who continue using game consoles instead of adopting relatively newer gaming PCs.

January 22, 2024April 15, 2024

Creative activities niche may underpin AI for some

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

January 16, 2024April 15, 2024

Game consoles continue among the young at heart after an early pandemic surge

Dan Ness, Principal Analyst, MetaFacts, January 16, 2024

Summary

The active use of a game console is primarily the domain of younger adults. However, the entertainment devices are not limited to the youngest adults as market penetration remains nearly as high among 40-somethings as among the age 18 to 24 adult. Following the onset of the pandemic, game console penetration reached new highs among most age groups and countries, only to settle back towards historical levels.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults actively using a game console split by age group and country.

Game console penetration by age group and country

The active use of game consoles is skewed towards adults under age 50
The age skew is not especially steep, as market penetration among adults aged 35 to 49 is roughly 40% in the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan
Among most countries and age groups, game console penetration peaked in 2020 and 2021 following the onset of the pandemic and has since settled

December 27, 2023February 26, 2024

Gameplayers shift platforms, drifting from consoles and PCs

Playing games is a regular activity for around half of online adults in the US, Germany, the UK, and Japan, a practice that has remained relatively steady since 2021. What has changed is the play platform of choice, as smartphones grow in favor while PCs and game consoles diminish. While Gen Z leads in gameplaying activity, the Boomer/Silent generations have increased their fun behavior, especially with smartphones.

This MetaFAQ reports on the percentage of online adults who regularly play games using a game console, smartphone, PC, gaming PC, or other connected device from 2021 through 2023. This information is split into generational age groups among Americans. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1227_gamt] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; User Profile; Activities; Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing

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December 3, 2023November 15, 2023

Half of Gen Z Americans use a game console, unlike elders

Later generations heavily favor game consoles. Only a fourth of Gen X has embraced game consoles, while most millennials and Gen Z generations actively play with them. Console games are intriguing to these later generations for their immersion, demanding video, and the social aspect of sharing game-playing.

This MetaFAQs reports the percentage of online adults in the US, Germany, UK, Japan, and China using a game console by generation. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1203_cons] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Activities; Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing

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October 29, 2023October 26, 2023

VR headsets, seeking acceptance, persist as virtual

Who hasn’t misplaced their phone or keys or wondered where their luggage was?

Using technology to help find items has reached a plateau. The percentage of online adults using a wireless item tracker such as Tile or Apple’s AirTag has remained flat between 2021 and 2023. Overall global active usage has subsided from one in six to one in eight online adults. Active penetration rates have dropped among groups such as Gen Z adults in the US, UK, Germany, and China.
This may have seemed like yet another device to help attract users into adopting or staying with technology ecosystems. It’s too early to see if it’s making a difference. The market penetration is too small.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online adults in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China who actively use a wireless item tracker such as from Tile or Apple’s AirTag. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1025_tile] in TUP Lenses: Consumer Electronics; Technology Ecosystems

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October 9, 2023February 26, 2024

Gamers pass the halfway mark

Gamers pass the halfway mark – Over half of the online adults in the US, UK, and highly-educated segments in China regularly play games using their connected devices. While Generation Z leads in game-playing rates, it’s a popular activity across all age groups. Interestingly, there’s no single predominant device for gaming. Smartphones are more prevalent for gaming than consoles among adults in many countries, particularly among Gen X and Boomers. While gaming PCs are gaining traction, their presence is still less than most platforms, barring tablets. Notably, only a minority of Gen X and Boomer players prefer tablets over gaming PCs. This MetaFAQs provides the detailed penetration of game-playing activity, segmented by platform, country, and generation. Report [TUP_doc_2023_1009_game] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Activities; Game Consoles, Gaming PCs, and Game-Playing

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June 22, 2023August 15, 2023

Home entertainment activities among online Americans

Having fun is one of the main activities for which online Americans use their connected devices – smartphones, home computers, or tablets. In the time prior to and since Covid, there has been a shift in which devices online Americans mostly use for entertainment.

This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of online Americans who regularly use their connected devices for entertainment activities, showing the four-year trend from 2019 through 2022 and drilling down into generational age groups and device types: smartphone, home computers, and tablets.

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