Press release -

Mobile usage across the generations

The GSMA Intelligence prediction that the number of mobile connections will exceed the number of people on the planet demonstrates how being ‘always connected’ has become embedded with everyday life.  A major driver in this has been the growth in social media, games, email and the desire to constantly interact through our devices. We at Tpoll Market Intelligence wanted to really get under the skin of what this means for the mobile industry, from a purely consumer viewpoint.  Stats & figures around mobile growth, app usage etc tends to be at a very broad level and the nuances of behaviour can sometimes be missed.  We were keen to identify how patterns of behaviour differ across generations and what impact this has on the future of mobile for each of these incredibly different groups.  To do this, we set-up and ran 3 online bulletin boards, one for each generation (Gen Y 16-30, Gen X 31-45, Gen B 46+) over 7 days on our own Tqual platform.  We uncovered some really interesting stuff ...some of which we've detailed below.

Different levels of mobile intimacy exist across the generations. For Gen X and Y especially the use of mobile devices has become so engrained that the thought of being without the phone almost provokes a panic attack, and they explain how the phone is with them at all times.

But this generation are also beginning to see the negative aspects of all this and the mobile industry needs to be aware of a future negative backlash, or reduction in usage if this trend grows.

The older you get, the smartphone becomes less an extension of your arm, but more a practical tool for completing tasks-  it’s ‘just a phone’ that’s used for texting and calling. However Gen X are also feeling the negativity and re-enforces the potential for a backlash.

Where the generations converge is a widespread frustration with battery life and the physical device not being able to keep up with the excitement of apps and tools.

Gen Y complains about their phones freezing, crashing, being slow and not having enough memory on them, a typical trait for this generation which is marked by impatience from having grown up in the age of convenience and on-the-go. Gen X’s biggest frustrations are the short battery life and poor reception. Most of them have jobs where they need to be reachable when on the go, and not being able to connect or having important apps drain their phones of battery life causing a lot of problems on a weekly basis.

Likewise for Gen B the biggest frustration is the short battery life of the smartphone. The impression is that the mobile industry has got so excited about new apps they have been distracted by the more mundane task of making the phone work with so much functionality loaded in.

Despite these issues there still exists a real opportunity for the mobile industry to grow usage by enabling the consumer to change the device more frequently. Generation Y is likely to change their phone every 1.5 years, and if they could afford to they would do it each year. They want the newest technology and have a hard time waiting for things to actually wear out before upgrading. Generation X will on average change their phone every 2 years, either because the current one brakes, staying up to date with new developments or their contract ends and they decide to upgrade. Gen B is the one that will keep their phone the longest and are most likely to switch once their contract ends or because the phone they have doesn’t work anymore. Persuading the older generation to change more often seems a real opportunity to exploit.

When describing their thoughts for the perfect phone of the future, there are both differences and similarities across generations. For Gen Y a large, strong screen (but not so big that it does not look a phone anymore), light in weight, large, fast memory and a battery that can be charged wirelessly are the most desirable features. For Gen X they see the next generation of phones being more like small PCs that will combine all the functionalities of a phone, tablet and computer in one device. The devices will also have solar panels for charging on the go, wearable, voice activation and a long battery life. Gen B see a longer battery life, remote controlling of things in the home, solar panels to make charging easier and the ability to control which programmes you do and don’t want to have on your phone as the most desirable.

So the future looks full of opportunity for the industry and if the battery life can keep up with the tech and innovative ways can be found to change handset more frequently across the generations, mobile connections are highly likely to stay ahead of the birth rate.

Mark Ursell – CEO Tpoll – I have been in the research industry since 1992 and founded Tpoll in 1999. I specialise in bringing new technologies to consumer research to deliver insight at the speed in which a business moves, maximising their competitive edge. I am always inspired by new ideas and innovation and how they can make sure the consumer is at the heart of business decision making.



Topics

  • Health, Health Care, Pharmaceuticals

Categories

  • online communities
  • customer insight
  • mobile
  • gsma
  • geny

Customer Insight, Market Intelligence

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