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
Renters continue to outnumber homeowners in some countries
Many smart home technology devices rely on people to change their living space to accommodate the tech. However, many landlords restrict the changes renters can make to their dwellings, making it difficult for renters to adopt new technology. Meanwhile, other landlords take a more embracing view of innovation, incorporating smart home technology devices into their rental properties to build value and increase security or efficiency.
This MetaFAQs reports the percentage of online adults renting their dwellings split by country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0219_dwet] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
Tech use grows with household size
Adults in larger households worldwide use more devices than those in smaller households, a trend that has been established for years. Even as people are using fewer devices, those with more people in their households continue to use more devices than the adults in smaller households. One key factor influencing a higher usage profile is the presence of children, especially school-aged kids. Also, many smaller households are composed of older adults or those not employed outside of the household. All of these are contributing factors towards the greater use of technology devices and services.
This MetaFAQs reports on the average (mean) number of devices actively used (phones, computers, tablets) by adults by household size and country. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0217_many] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Households
In most countries, younger adults boost any Apple iPhone market expansion
Apple’s iPhone slightly leads among American smartphone users and is approaching the halfway mark among smartphone users in the UK. However, the iPhone is losing its share in Japan, and its status in China has been mixed from 2019 through 2023. In nearly every country surveyed, the iPhone’s market penetration has been driven by younger smartphone users, while penetration rates among older smartphone users have remained relatively flat.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentage of smartphone users using an Apple iPhone split by country and age category. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0209_ipht] in TUP Lenses: Mobile Phones; User Profile; Technology Ecosystems
American printing trends affected by employment, generation, education
As a chilling trend for the printer industry, one of the fastest growing segments among Americans is the growing percentage of those who do not use a printer at home, at their workplace, in a school or library, or anywhere else. Furthermore, Gen Z adults, often considered a forerunner of market adoption, stand out for their disadoption.
This MetaFAQs reports on the percentages of Americans based on their active printer and home printer usage in two mutually exclusive ways: those using any printer or no printer and those using a home printer or not using a home printer. We have split the results by generation – Gen Z, millennial, Gen X, Boomer, and Silent/Greatest – from 2010 through 2023. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0206_otpr] in TUP Lenses: Printers; User Profile
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
Remote work pays: cross-country earnings compared
Remote workers tend to earn more than their workplace-going counterparts. Various factors, including educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and job type, influence this. We found this positive association in the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and China.
This MetaFAQs focuses on quantifying the income disparity, rather than determining the causal relationship between income levels and remote work. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0131_affl] in TUP Lenses: User Profile; Work/Life Balance
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