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Our research aims to unpick the human impact of this constant connectivity.
This has enabled us to identify pockets of optimism and concern that will drive major changes in preferences and online behaviours in the near future.
We asked 1,500 people living in the UK how they feel about their connected lives, what matters to them, and what they expect to change the most.
The commercial and societal impact of new technology and the internet has been profound, and today our world is more connected than ever.
START
HOPE, FEAR, AND TRUST IN OUR DIGITAL WORLD
DNA
BRITAIN'S DIGITAL
Which new digital service has had the biggest impact on your life in the past 3 years?
OF BRITAIN
we have asked the people
tablet / ipad
online shopping
online banking
social networks facebook
contactless & online payment
apps
video calls
broadband
whatsapp
streaming video
smart tv
of our survey respondents mentioned this
smartphone
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
7%
9%
15%
WHICH NEW DIGITAL SERVICE HAS HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE IN THE PAST 3 YEARS?
75+
65-74
55-64
45-54
35-44
25-34
18-24
How does this vary by age?
26%
20%
29%
33%
43%
56%
61%
The older you are, the more likely that you don’t feel you need smartphone.
Around 1 in 5 say they could live without the phone for a week. This is consistent across age groups.
19%
17%
16%
1 in 5 people can’t live without their phone for more than a day, but this is slightly lower for over 65’s.
18%
12%
14%
21%
Nearly 20% of people under 50 can’t live without their phone for more than a few hours.
23%
Nearly 10% of under 55’s can’t live without their phone for more than an hour.
11%
10%
8%
6%
A small percentage (mostly under-45’s) feel like they need their phone constantly.
FPO
Are we a nation dependent on Connectivity?
You’re like 4% of the population
You’re like 7% of the population
You’re like 35% of the population
You’re like 17% of the population
You’re like 19% of the population
CONNECTIVITY?
ARE WE A NATION DEPENDENT ON
I CAN LIVE WITHOUT IT
A FEW HOURS
Select the longest you could cope without your smartphone:
1 HOUR
A WEEK
A DAY
5 MINUTES
It is the perma-connected millennials who feel like they need to get away
AGE
Internet users who actively seek out opportunities for a digital detox
Internet users who spend 5+ hours online per day outside of work
A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
CAN BE
CONNECTIVITY
33
42
48
% OPTIMISTIC
jobs
sharing
education
hopes
Negative
about in our connected lives?
&
Positive
what are we
fears
30
32
43
% PESSIMISTIC
BEING left behind
crime
privacy
JOBS
SHARING
EDUCATION
HOPES
55+
25-54
of 18- to 35-year-olds have a website, youtube channel, or blog, which they regularly maintain
"I enjoy coding and programming for fun"
A new kind of curiosity is evident: A fifth of under 35s enjoy digital pastimes that build new skills and knowledge in the process
millenials
Source: ICEF Monitor, Jan 2016
How are people learning online?
Source: ICEF Monitor, Jan. 2016
5,000 courses from over 500 universities including Harvard, Yale, MIT, and the Open University
One way is through MOOCs—Massive Open Online Courses
A quarter of under 35s use internet learning on a regular basis.
% of respondents using internet learning "often" or "constantly"
24%
does technology educate us?
Believe that education will be mostly or completely online by 2021
People believe there is a strong role for technology and the internet in education, both now and in the future.
hmm not really
YES, it does!
48%
81%
75%
60%
Frustrated when a company doesn't have a phone number Agree or strongly agree
OFFLINE
ONLINE
38%
62%
CONTACT PREFERENCES
The majority of customers prefer to contact companies online – but still want to be able to phone if they need to.
LETTER
PHONE
22%
SOCIAL APPS
INTERNET
13%
EMAIL
41%
Of people would like to work for themselves which is being made easier by the sharing economy enabling money to be made during spare time or from other assets
SOURCES: Airbnb study, Citizens Advice, and The Telegraph
Airbnb hosts who report that their extra income helps them pay bills, which they would otherwise struggle with
Average annual income from Airbnb in the UK
Believe technology exploits providers of goods and services
Believe technology allows us to share resources better
People feel very positively about the sharing opportunities the internet and technology enable.
42%
Manufacturing
-31%
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
-17%
Professional, scientific, and technical activities
53%
Information and communication
CHANGES IN UK EMPLOYMENT 1997—2016
JOBS LOST IN MANUAL INDUSTRIES
Source: ONS employment figures for industries with a minimum of 300,000 employees in 1997
Jobs LOST in manual industries
Jobs CREATED in emerging industries
of people believe half of all the jobs on the planet will disappear due to technology by 2030
While technology is creating new jobs, the loss of some manual jobs could be driving converns around income inequality.
destroy jobs for people like me
make my job harder and more complex
create more income inequality
reduce income inequality
make my job easier and simpler
46%
create jobs for people like me
technology will...
The country is generally positive about the effect of technology on jobs. However, concerns remain that it could increase income inequality.
left behind
CRIME
So, which types of company are trusted with our personal data?
NEITHER TRUST NOR DISTRUST
Bank
Source: New York Times blog
Healthcare provider or insurer
Car or home insurer
Supermarket or grocery
Mobile phone operator
Airline or holiday operator
Proportion of people identifiable from as few as four pieces of allegedly ‘anonymized’ shopping data, according to MIT researchers
Technology companies like Amazon or Google
DON'T TRUST
39%
50%
45%
52%
30%
34%
44%
51%
28%
40%
TRUST
Some types of companies are trusted more than others. Banks are trusted even more than the NHS with personal data.
6% fully trust
27% don't know
68% of people don't trust the UK government to protect their privacy
what's in the news?
In this survey, 71% of people believe the government can easily access your internet history and most personal, health, and financial data
In 2013 The Guardian reported that GCHQ could receive up to 21 petabytes of data per day from tapped cables
The Investigatory Powers Bill became law in November 2016. Dubbed 'the snoopers charter' by the media, it requires companies to store web histories for a year and increase official agencies' access
In October 2016 The Telegraph reported that UK government ministers are barred from wearing SmartWatches during Cabinet meetings, in response to hacking concerns
don't want any of their personal data to be accessible
are happy to share personal data
SO
13% disagree
31% neutral
57% agree
I'm worried about sharing my personal information online
HOW CONCERNED ARE WE ABOUT OUR PRIVACY?
Privacy is the number one worry. Nearly half of respondents were concerned about privacy and 57% worried about sharing personal information online.
SOURCE: Office for National Statistics
6.3 million
5.8 million
Cybercrime is defined as a crime in which a computer is the object of the crime or is used as a tool to commit an offense
INCIDENTS
Cyber crime is almost as common as all other types of crime combined.
othercrime
cybercrime
Believe technology will lead to an increase in crime in the UK
Believe the internet will lead to a decrease in crime in the UK
A third believe the internet will increase crime in the UK, and almost 1 in 5 have been a victim of fraud or hacking online.
83%
no
yes
Have you been the victim of fraud or hacking online?
Of the UK adult population don't regularly access the internet
63%
Who thinks the internet and technology will have an increasingly negative impact on their life?
those without internet access at home or on phone
those who are internet users
Those without internet access at home or on phone
versus
Who feels left behind, and that they can't keep up with new technology?
People who don't regularly use the internet are much more pessimistic about its role in their lives, and are twice as likely to feel left behind.
Do you feel like you’re being left behind and can’t keep up with changing technology?
65+
27%
18-34
35-64
On average, a third feel left behind by technological advances. This is amplified in older age groups, but even 1 in 3 millennials feel they cannot keep up.
31
24
29
25
23
16
Less than a quarter of people think technology is creating equality, and this drops to 16% in households with the lowest incomes.
£100,000 or more
£80,000–£99,999
£60,000–£79,999
£40,000–£59,999
£20,000–£39,999
Under £20,000
% who agree that technology will create a more equal playing field
SINCE YOU BEGAN EXPLORING THIS REPORT THERE HAVE BEEN:
instagram posts
skype calls
emails sent
youtube views
google searches
tweets
XYZ
However, consumers have real concerns about technology’s impact on privacy and crime, as well as the pace of change. Things are now moving so fast that even many millennials feel they cannot keep up. These are just a few of the trends that will shape online preferences and behaviours in the near future. From a societal and political perspective, the evidence suggests that the UK needs to get better at fighting cybercrime, do more work to reduce inequalities resulting from low access to technology, and invest in supporting and celebrating time away from digital devices. For consumer businesses in the UK, more efforts need to be made to keep customer data safe and to explain what data is collected and why. Discover more: http://www.oliverwyman.com/insights/digital.html
People in the UK love being online, and have a positive outlook on how technology and the internet affect their lives.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
CREATED BY:
