People use connected devices to be productive, actively engaging in a broad set of activities spread among their various devices. The use of smartphones for productivity is growing while the use of computers has flattened or is even in decline. Younger adults have embraced productivity activities, although Gen X and millennials use different types of devices to get things done.
This MetaFAQs reports on the number and percentage of online adults who regularly perform a set of productivity activities, from work file collaboration to appointment scheduling. These results are further split by mean age and generation and trended by age and device type for Americans from 2020 through 2023. Report [TUP_doc_2024_0126_prod] in TUP Lenses: Activities, Mobile Phones, PCs, User Profile, Devices, Communication
Profile of Americans who regularly participate in video meetings
After the emergence of COVID and the rise of increasingly hybrid and remote work environments–are video meetings the new normal? 38% of all online American adults, or 83.8 million, regularly participate in video meetings. This MetaFAQs profiles those who regularly participate in video meetings by several critical demographic and behavioral factors distinctive from the average American online adult: age and gender; employment status; life stage (age, employment status, presence of children); the number of PCs used and technology ecosystem entrenchment. Report [TUP_doc_2022_0722_mode] in TUP Lenses: Activities, Communication.
Highlights: Activities
What we do paints a richer picture than what we carry or own. All computers are not used the same and nor are smartphones or tablets. Each user has their preference about how they spend their time. Also, each user expresses their choices about which connected devices they turn to for each type of activity. While some see their tablets as passive movie screens, others rely on them as communication hubs. Some users prefer to shop on a computer, while others rely more on their smartphones.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: main activities across all tech devices, major activities for each device type, activities unique to which device type, cross-device activities, the profile of activity type users, major activities for a market segment, home entertainment activities, the profile by key activities, and listening activities.
Communication TUP Lens Highlights
During the pandemic, employees suddenly working from home accelerated their use of videoconferencing, home computers, and other connected devices. Similarly, those not employed outside the home sought ways to stay connected with others or help their students continue their education. Communication activities ranging from videoconferencing to video calls, email, group chats, and text messaging are at the heart of these connections. Market adoption has not been assured nor evenly distributed, as only some segments adopted behaviors they continued. Meanwhile, other segments dallied with new communication methods and then returned to their old ways.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: communication activities by device type, communication activities among those working from home, devices used for work-related communication, and top communication activities.
Highlights: Wearables, Hearables, Listening & Speaking
Entertainment, communication, and smart homes have all evolved beyond requiring typing on a keyboard or sitting near PC speakers. Wearable and hearables have extended a broad range of audible activities further towards a more personal convenience. However, active usage of any wearables or hearables has varied considerably across market segments. While Bluetooth headphones are widespread, VR headsets persist as niche products among a younger, more affluent, and tech-savvy segment. Smart speakers, in contrast, are showing signs of having peaked after rising in use among a middle market.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: wearables penetration, hearables penetration, wearable devices used, trends in wearables and hearables, purchase plans for wearables, listening activities, penetration of voice assistant usage, the profile of voice assistant users, the profile of hearables users, and the profile of wearables users.
Devices used for work video meetings
Work-related video conferences had been growing in use even before the pandemic. Platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Webex solidified their prominence, even while employees have many other ways to communicate – email, text, and collaboration platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Nearly between 33% and 43% of employees in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan regularly use one of their connected devices to participate in work-related video group meetings. This MetaFAQs reports on the number of employees regularly using their connected devices for work-related video group meetings, detailing each device type used – smartphone, home PC, work PC, or tablet – by the size of their employer: <20 employees, 20-499 employees, or 500+ employees.
VR headset adoption
VR headsets are slowly and unsteadily working their way onto the heads of online adults. This TUPdate shows how penetration has expanded (and contracted) since 2018. By reviewing the activities that VR headset users do with their other connected devices – smartphones, PCs, tablets, or game consoles – this TUPdate profiles just who these VR headset early adopters are. Their creative, fun, collaborative, and educational activities point the way to possible hotspots of VR headset adoption.
Mobile Phones TUP Lens
Smartphones have rapidly, although not completely, replaced feature phones. Smartphone users have expanded their range of activities with new uses while also increasingly migrating activities from computers and tablets. This TUP Highlights Report profiles smartphones – their market penetration, user demographic profile, regular activities, usage profile, key competitors, and purchase plans.
This TUP Highlights report includes the following sections: penetration of smartphones versus feature phones, smartphone brand share, top activities for smartphones, smartphone carrier share, smartphone usage profile, trends in technology ecosystems, major activities for a market segment, and the profile of smartphone users.
Communication patterns shift showing Zoom fatigue
Email continues to lead as the major communication activity across all devices. One-to-one video calls have grown rapidly. Worldwide and US employees are showing their Zoom/Webex fatigue, as both work and personal web-based group meetings have subsided.
Communication distinctive for remote workers [TUPdate]
Working from home requires more communication than ever, both a broad range of devices (smartphones, computers, tablets), and types (calls, messages, meetings with and without video). Employees working from home use computers for different communication activities than they do with smartphones. This TUPdate compares a detailed list of communication activities among those working from home and those not working from home, and also identifies which devices – PCs, smartphones, or others – are used the most for communication by work from home status.