'From Fun to Functionality - Britain's Attitude to Technology is Evolving'

Egg and MORI's 'Embracing Technology' Report

"This report paints a very clear picture of a nation growing up with technology. As long as train spotting exists, this probably does not indicate the demise of the anorak. But it does mark a significant shift in British consumer attitudes to new technologies. Digital life, it would seem, has arrived."

Mark Nancarrow, Chief Operating Officer, Egg

Revealed today:

• The PC Is The New Toaster With the 'gee whizz' factor now gone, new technologies are playing an increasingly functional role in our lives. But while the toaster remains in the kitchen, digital TV and PDAs mean that interactive devices can come out of the study.
• Britons Eager to Enter the World of Online Financial Services Britons are now doing more than browsing. They are now prepared to step over the digital threshold and are happily buying and servicing financial products online.
• Women Are Doing It For Themselves Different attitudes to technologies really show that men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
• Britain Is A Nation Divided - By Technology Forget about the north/south divide, when it comes to technology the real divide now lies somewhere along Offa's Dyke.
• U R XperieNsD but do U txt? Egg reveals a new breed - Silver Texters. Over a million grannies and grandads now text message regularly.
• Egg Brings Cheer For Bosses New attitudes to internet usage are saving blushes in the office - only 6% of internet users say they would click away from a website when their boss walked in.

EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY - "THE PC IS THE NEW TOASTER"

Findings detailed in the Egg/MORI 'Embracing Technology' report reveal that the British population has grown out of its initial excitement over new technologies and is becoming more sophisticated and selective in its demands from these devices.

The report indicates that we have become so used to having PCs, mobile telephones, PDAs and digital television that these have taken on a functional status similar to a toaster or a kettle. We use these devices to get the most out of life rather than for their novelty value as was the case at the outset. The findings show people are spending less time using all key interactive and digital technologies than they were six months ago.

The Egg Index: '48% of British adults now use interactive technologies'

The Egg Index is a new feature of the report and measures the change in the proportion of British adults using interactive technologies. In this case the report makes comparisons to our last report six months ago, but in recognition of the fast rate of technological change, from now on we will be undertaking the research on a quarterly basis. Between September 2000 and April 2001 the Egg Index has recorded a rise of seven percentage points of adults now using interactive technologies, which in real terms equates to 22 million British adults, or 48% of the total population.

BRITONS EAGER TO ENTER THE WORLD OF ONLINE FINANCIAL SERVICES

Findings reveal that the British population is becoming more comfortable with conducting their finances using new interactive technologies.

The Egg Index: '27% of internet users banking online'

Whilst we may be spending less time accessing our new devices, we are now using them for more complex and transactional purposes such as applying for jobs or banking online. In the six months from September 2000 to April 2001, the Egg Index has seen that the number of British adults conducting online banking has risen by around a million.

Insurance is one of the products for which applications are most often made and it is set to grow even more within the next three years, according to the report. The Egg report found that 17% of internet users have applied for or accessed insurance online, and 22% of all adults say they would feel comfortable doing so in the next three years.

Nearly 5 million people say they have now arranged or serviced a financial product over the internet. *

Egg has correspondingly seen 370,000 new customers over its six-month reporting period to 30 June 2001.

"IT'S TRUE, WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY, MEN REALLY ARE FROM MARS AND WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS"

Men are still more likely than women both to use digital technologies and to use them more frequently. This is the case for work/study and for personal purposes. The majority of men using the internet for personal purposes do so for almost three and a half hours per week on average. However, only one quarter of women use the technology and for less time - a little over two and a half hours per week on average.

The use of mobile phones and SMS text messaging is the exception, with men and women using the technology in similar proportions, and for about the same amount of time per week. Women internet users are more likely than men to click away from a site if they can't find what they are looking for, whilst men are more likely to click away from pages that take longer than thirty seconds to download.

However, Egg and MORI found that women are planning to start using interactive technologies in numbers almost as great as men over the next six months.

However, where you live will have an impact on your likelihood to have access to internet, digital TV or a WAP mobile phone. The British population is divided along regional lines in uptake of digital technologies.

"FORGET ALL THE TALK ABOUT THE NORTH/SOUTH DIVIDE. THE REAL DIVIDE NOW LIES SOMEWHERE ALONG OFFA'S DYKE"

A clear distinction has emerged between two neighbouring areas of the country. The Midlands has the highest proportion of people with access to interactive technologies (internet, digital TV and WAP mobile phone). However, in Wales just to the West, there is the lowest proportion in Britain of people with access to interactive technologies. Perhaps surprisingly, access is slightly higher in the North than it is in the South.

Egg's Chief Operating Officer, Mark Nancarrow comments, "The emergence of the internet, digital television and WAP phone access to the internet was seen as a great democratising force. In theory the World Wide Web should have opened up access to products and services, ensuring that everybody, no matter where they live, now can purchase the same products, discounts and levels of service. This vision, however, relies on people having regular access to these technologies, but the Egg report shows there is cause for concern in the gap of access between regions."

The Egg Index: 'Five million new digital TV users in six months'

However, the rapid uptake of digital television has been uniform across the country with 5 million new users over the last six months, bringing the total to a third of the British adult population. An additional 13% of respondents envisaged accessing digital TV in the next six months, totaling nearly half the British adult population.

Professor Robert Worcester, Chairman of MORI suggests, "There is no doubt that digital television is opening up interactive technologies to new population segments which would not have considered PC-based access to the web before. It is only a matter of time before the boundary between PC Internet and interactive television will be blurred."

"U R XPERINSD BUT DO U TXT?"

Findings detailed in the Egg/MORI 'Embracing Technology' report reveal that a new breed appears to be emerging - Silver Texters - with well over a million over-55s now text messaging.

However, just a quarter of those aged 55 or over feel that technology is now a part of their everyday lives, as opposed to more than four fifths of under 35s.

"EGG BRINGS CHEER FOR BOSSES"

Findings detailed in the Egg/MORI 'Embracing Technology' report makes comforting reading for employers - the working population may be growing up in its attitude to new technology. The report finds that only 6% of internet users say that they would click away from a website if their boss walked in.

Additionally, not only are we spending less time, on average, on the internet than we were six months ago, but by far the most widely used applications surveyed are information gathering, email and printing off information. Perhaps then, we are losing interest in forwarding jokes and browsing the internet for bargain holidays whilst at work.

Dependency upon technology is much higher among workers than non-workers. Just one in five workers do not feel that any of the technologies (such as mobile phones, internet and PCs) are part of their everyday life.

The 'Embracing Technology Interim Report' also found that:

• The number of British adults using laptop and palmtop computers has more than doubled in the past six months.
• 54% of email users see email as a necessary part of everyday life.
• SMS text messaging is now used by three-fifths of mobile phone users.
• As well as slow downloads and site crashes, half of all internet users would click away from a site if forced to register their details.

Mark Nancarrow, Egg's Chief Operating Officer concludes: "These findings are extremely interesting and point to the fact that the time taken to become confident with new technology has been condensed. This is an example of how even the most complex breakthroughs that may have taken generations to discover are quickly and unceremoniously assimilated into our day-to-day lives."

"Internet, laptop PCs, digital television and PDAs - once thought to be the preserve of geeks - have now found their place in the homes and lives of many Britons. The chances are that, not only will you have access to at least some interactive technologies, but that your mother (or even your grandmother) will too. And even more staggeringly, they will probably be using them for more than simply looking up the weather forecast."

"It is also interesting to note that both the telephone and the television took several decades to become an everyday item in the majority of homes and the PC twenty years. But in just 10 years the mobile phone is rapidly moving to that position, with digital television doing so in just two years."

Egg recognises that six months in the new economy is equal to a decade in the old economy, and will be publishing its "Embracing Technology" report regularly. Next edition likely to be available in November 2001.

Technical details

MORI conducted a total of 2,008 interviews with adults aged 16+ across Great Britain. All interviews were conducted face-to-face, in-home between 19 and 24 April 2001. The data were weighted to reflect the national profile. Where figures do not sum to 100 per cent this may be due to computer rounding, multiple codes or exclusion of 'Don't Know'.

Throughout this report, comparisons are made with the original Egg report - 'Embracing Technology'. A total of 2,029 interviews were conducted face-to-face, in home between 12 August and 5 September 2000.

* Findings marked with an asterisk are derived from an additional survey - 1,957 adults aged 16+ were interviewed between 2-7 August 2001, using the same methodology as the April 2001 survey.