Technology Tracker Q2 2016
One in five British Adults admit to taking selfies of just themselves, and the same number (20%) take selfies of themselves and others.
Taking selfies is more prevalent among younger people (64% of 15 to 24 year olds) and particularly young women, seven in ten (68%) of whom take pictures of themselves. People in the highest social grades (ABC1) are also more likely to engage in the pose and pout than average, with 25% saying they’ve taken a picture of themselves and someone else.
Internet usage
Almost 90% of GB adults claim that they have accessed the internet. The proportion of adults using mobile phones to do this has been increasing steadily and is at 68% in Q2’16. The top online activities remain: accessing email (80%), browsing for information on personal interest (67%), researching products and services (63%) and online shopping (60%).
Connected home
Ownership of 3D TVs nearly doubled wave on wave and is now at 10%. Nearly 1 in 2 households also own a tablet and over half of these households have an iPad. Nearly 2 in 5 of GB adults have at least one gaming console in their household which is up from 1 in 3 in the previous quarter. Ownership of consoles between brands is equal, with ownership of Wii/WiiU, PS3/4 and Xbox360/XboxOne at 18%.
Social networking
Accessing social networking platforms via smartphones and PC/laptops is head to head (38% vs. 34%). With a more mainstream appeal (broadly equal spread with regards to age of users), Facebook remains the most visited social networking site (57% in Q2’16) Instagram (20%), Twitter (18%), G+(18%) and Snapchat (15%).
Smartphones
Smartphone ownership is now at 73%. iOS(38%) and Android(35%) penetration remain neck and neck. Top 3 activities on smartphones: reading or sending emails (62%), visiting social networking sites (53%) and browsing websites (43%).
Tablets
Ownership of tablets remains stable - 49% in Q2’16 vs. 47% in Q2’15. The gap between ownership of iPads and non-iPad tablets has widened slightly (29% vs. 24%). Top activities on tablet: reading or sending emails (58%), browsing websites (49%), visiting social networking sites (44%) and online shopping (44%).
Content consumption
Ownership of package games(14%) continues its slow recovery from last years dip in consumption (10%), while paying to download a game is just under the 10% mark (9%). There is a steady upward trend in consumption of TV series specifically through catch –up TV (36%) and any digital consumption (26%).
Selfie generation
Taking selfies is more prevalent among the younger generations (15-34; 40%). Sharing ‘selfies’ with peers and through social media is the most prevalent activity specially amongst females and 15-34s. Facebook(68%) followed by Whatsapp(42%) are the most used platforms for sharing selfies. However, with 15-24 year olds Snapchat and Instagram are also popular (49% and 40% respectively).
