2 in 3 Agencies Believe Tablets to Become Primary Computing Device for Youth

March 7, 2013

This article is included in these additional categories:

Digital | Mobile Phone | Social Media | Technology

SoDA-Tech-Adoption-Trends-Mar2013Tablets will become the primary computing device for college-age students and younger, supplanting laptops and desktops, agree 66% of agency leaders surveyed by Econsultancy for the latest Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) Digital Outlook Marketing report. But according to a recent study from Forrester Research, tablet adoption is actually higher among Gen X (33-46) and Gen Y (24-32) adults than their younger Gen Z (18-23) counterparts, at least in the US.

The SoDA report findings are interesting when compared with recent research from the NPD Group. According to NPD, 4 in 10 PC users are now accessing content on their tablets and smartphones instead of their PCs. But while the primary activities being shifted from PCs to tablets are web browsing and Facebook access, the report finds that those and other activities are still far more likely to be performed on a PC than on a tablet. The researchers also maintain that while these “entertainment-centric behaviors” might be migrating to smart devices, “computers will remain the fundamental content creation device in consumer’s tool box for many years to come.”

That view is shared by Deloitte. In its 2013 Technology, Media & Telecommunications predictions, Deloitte predicts that more than 70% of time spent with computing devices (such as PCs, smartphones and tablets) will be on a PC, and that a majority of non-work time will also be spent with PCs. Deloitte argues that frequently-cited unit sales are not the correct barometer for PC outlooks, instead maintaining that usage is more important. And on that front, the researchers feel that size matters, and that PCs will remain the preferred device for content creation. For Deloitte, now is a “PC Plus” era, not a “post-PC era.”

Meanwhile, in other tech adoption trends contained in the SoDA report, a majority of agencies believe that:

  • Consumers will insist on the ability to port content across multiple screens and to have differentiated content experiences based on their mobility context (88%);
  • Touchscreen will begin to displace click and keyboard for non-business applications (70%); and
  • Experimentation aside, users will invest more time on fewer social networking sites (55%).

There’s less consensus surrounding the notion that mobile applications will being to lose share to mobile sites (43% agreeing) and that augmented reality will make the leap from innovation lab to the every day (35% agreeing).

About the Data: SoDA’s 2013 Digital Outlook Marketing Survey had 814 respondents. Agencies represented 35% of respondents.

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