The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that adult Americans are broadly divided into three groups: 31 percent are rabid users of technology, 20 percent are moderate users, and the remainder demonstrate little or no usage of the Internet or cell phones.
But overall, adults do not seem to be intimidated by the volume of information available or the means to access it. When asked if they felt overloaded, 27% of all respondents said they did, but 67% said they like having so much information available.
The “Elite Tech Users,” representing 31% of adults surveyed, have the most information technology tools, use the Internet and cell phones heavily and frequently, and (to varying degrees) are engaged with user-generated content. This group is almost evenly split into four smaller groups:
“Omnivores,” who fully embrace technology and express themselves creatively through blogs and personal Web pages;
“Connectors,” who see the Internet and cell phones as communications tools;
“Productivity enhancers,” who consider technology as largely ways to better keep up with their jobs and daily lives; and
“Lackluster veterans,” those who use technology frequently but aren’t thrilled by it.
Lots of detail – more categories – in the article. Gee, I wonder where our readers fit in?
Well, now I know what pigeon hole I am in … lackluster veteran.
Yes a vet who has seen the great techno god and was unimpressed.
Hmm, I guess I’m a lackluster Vet?
I use the stuff , but I don’t go crazy over it.
http://www.firejaypa.com
Technology Parasite…
My god, Dvorak’s pessimism has poisoned all of his readers! Or maybe he just attracts curmudgons? Or maybe I can’t spell?
Oh well, who cares, John’s the man.
That explains why music studios aren’t losing money to illegal downloads. The techno-rubes are paying the freight
Bob, this is where Cranky Geeks hang out.
Productivity enhancer. But if I didn’t have a life, I’d probably be an omnivore.
everyone i know, even my techno-neophyte parents really enjoy all the good stuff
i showed my mom how to track their stocks and shop for cheap airfare and she plays bridge online
my dad love to muck about in photoshop elements
neither really know at any deep level what they’re doing, but that’s the beauty — as time progresses people need to know less and less
enjoy rome while you can! the barbarians are at the gates!
From the picture, I thought it was the launch of Intel’s new quad-core CPU lineup.
Would be a nice change from the Purple Guys, and in tune with Intel’s horrible environmental impact.
All this high tech crap is serious eWaste. Japan has the worst. They are on the *ahem* current news trying to get rid of their old tech in third-world countries, that only want Core-Duo’s laptops, nothing less.
Wow, such silliness. I do development for a living. I don’t have a PDA and absolutely have no use for one. Being able to understand and use technology isn’t the same thing as being the target of technology; i.e. salespeople are more apt to actually need a PDA because they have too many appointments to remember. The only date I need to care about is the next rev’s ship date. Different need. And somehow I doubt a salesperson has a better understanding of this stuff than I do.
Similarly, cell phones are helpful for people who are on the go a lot and need to coordinate meetings and so on. They’re not as useful for stay at home moms. Duh. We don’t need a poll to know this.
In other words, the idiots taking this poll didn’t take into account the differences between ability and need and never considered the impact of job imposition on a lifestyle. Instead, they looked at what you own and deal with and assumed that this correlates to ability. I’m sure that they also have this broken down (or soon will) into cute demographics that will correlate this with income.
Sheesh. Maybe someone ought to show these useless MBA types the Flying Spaghetti Monster graph correlating the lack of pirates with global warming. Problem is they’re probably too stupid to understand it.
lackluster veteran, here. Its just a tool, no need to be nuts about it.
lackluster veteran also. I agree with grog as time progresses we area able to do more with our app’s while we concern ourselfs less with the how. just another applience.
There should be one more category — honked users:
Those who like the tech, must use it, but really hate all the time wasted just to keep the darned gadgets working.
Must I spend many hours a week to maintain a modest network and keep up with all the darned M$ and other patches?