Four in Five (84%) of Canadian Parents Believe Technology Allows Families to Be Better Connected

Toronto, ON - As use of new technologies grow and new innovations emerge, Canadian parents are relying on these tools more than ever to help them keep their family connected and organized, according to a new study conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of Microsoft. Four in five (84%) Canadian parents `agree' (32% strongly/51% somewhat) that `technology allows families to be better connected', while only one in five (16%) `disagree' (5% strongly/12% somewhat). Seven in ten (70%) Canadian parents `agree' (23% strongly/47% somewhat) that `my family relies on technology to help us stay connected, while only three in ten (30%) `disagree' (9% strongly/21% somewhat) with this admission.

Keeping a family organized can be one of the most demanding tasks asked of Canadian parents, and many acknowledge this difficulty. Four in ten (39%) `agree' (8% strongly/31% somewhat) that `keeping my family organized is difficult, although six in ten (61%) `disagree' (22% strongly/39% somewhat) with this statement. While times are tough now when it comes to organizing their family, Canadian parents still believe that it was more difficult for their parents to keep things organized when they were a kid. Half (49%) of Canadian parents `agree' (16% strongly/32% somewhat) that `keeping my family organized is more difficult than it was for my parents when I was a kid, while the other half (51%) of Canadian parents `disagree' (18% strongly/33% somewhat).

• Parents from the City of Toronto most `agree' that keeping their family organization was more difficult than for their parents when they were kids (57%) and keeping family organized now is difficult (49%) than parents in Vancouver (46%/29%) and Montreal (41%/34%)

When it comes to keeping their families organized now, majority of Canadian parents believe technological tools are a plus. Seven in ten (73%) Canadian parents `agree' (21% strongly/52% somewhat) that `technology allows my family to be better organized', while only three in ten (27%) `disagree' (5% strongly/22% somewhat). Parents also believe that technology is a benefit for families, in general, when it comes to organization. Eight in ten (78%) `agree' (23% strongly/55% somewhat) that `technology allows families to be better organized', while two in ten (22%) `disagree' (5% strongly/17% somewhat).

• Parents from the City of Toronto are most `agree' that technology allows families, in general, to be better organized (82%) as well as their own (80%) compared to parents in Montreal (75%/71%) and Vancouver (75%/66%)

Technology allows families more opportunities than just connecting and keeping organized, it allows them to make and share memories as well. Nine in ten (91%) Canadian parents `agree' (41% strongly/50% somewhat) that `technology allows me to capture, create, and share memories', while only one in ten (9%) `disagree' (2% strongly/7% somewhat). A similar proportion (91%) `agree' (40% strongly/51% somewhat) that `technology allows me to keep in touch with my family', with only 9% `disagreeing' (2% strongly/7% somewhat).

Technological Needs for Keeping in Touch More Complex Now

While families have more ways to communicate at their disposal than ever before, this is countered by the opinion that many Canadian parents have relating to families having more complex needs when it comes to communicating with their loved ones. Two-thirds (67%) of Canadian parents `agree' (20% strongly/47% somewhat) that `Canadian families have more complex needs when it comes to communicating with loved ones, sharing memories, or organizing busy schedules than Canadian families did ten years ago', while one in three (33%) `disagree' (7% strongly/26% somewhat).

Most Canadian parents believe that Canadians families have more complex technological needs for keeping in touch now even when compared to a few years ago. Six in ten (60%) `agree' (15% strongly/45% somewhat) that `Canadian families have more complex needs when it comes to communicating with loved ones, sharing memories, or organizing busy schedules than Canadian families did five years ago', although four in ten (40%) `disagree' (8% strongly/32% somewhat). A majority (55%) of Canadian parents even `agree' (12% strongly/43% somewhat) that families have more complex needs when it comes to communicating with loved ones, sharing memories, or organizing busy schedules than Canadian families did three years ago', although nearly half (45%) `disagree' (9% strongly/36% somewhat) with this sentiment.

• Parents in the City of Toronto most `agree' that Canadian families now have more complex communication needs compared to families 5 (64%) and 3 years ago (62%) compared to parents in Montreal (50%/45%) and Vancouver (50%/43%)

Modern Family Technology Use

Families can also use technology to spend quality time together sharing memories. Eight in ten (84%) of Canadian parents `sit down with other members of their family to view family memories on a computer, tablet, or phone in order to create digital photo albums or scrapbooks'. Half (45%) do this less often than once a month, while two in ten (16%) do it a few times a month. One in ten sit down and create albums or scrapbooks once a month (9%), once a week or more often (8%), or almost daily (5%). Only two in ten (16%) never do this activity with their family.

Families can use technologies in other ways to find quality bonding time such as consuming or sharing music, movies, and games that they all enjoy. Three-quarters (77%) of Canadian parents say their family consumes content like music, movies, and games by purchasing them from a retail location, while another three-quarters (75%) say their family downloads this content from the internet. The following table outlines the different ways in which Canadian parents and their families consume music, movies, and games and the frequency of such consumption:

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Changes in Organizational Tech Tool Usage

When it comes to their family now and keeping them organized, however, Canadian parents have gotten with the times and use the variety of organizational tools available. Half (46%) use `email' to keep their family organized, while three in ten (29%) use a `day planner'. One-quarter (24%) use `other technological tools', while two in ten use an `email calendar' (19%) or `other non-technological tools' (17%) to help keep their families organized. Only three in ten (29%) use none of these things to keep their family organized. The following table compares tools families used to keep organized when Canadian parents were kids and tools they use now to keep their own families organized:

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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid survey conducted between January 3rd to 10th, 2013, on behalf of Microsoft. For this survey, a sample of 1,654 Canadian parents from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the survey is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points had all Canadians parents been survey. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Associate Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
416.572.4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid

Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.

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