SA’s most desirable tech device
Cisco research reveals that, when it comes to tech, South Africa’s youth are torn between smartphones, laptops and tablets as to which device they most desire.
The study of Internet habits of young South Africans highlights how the need to stay connected drives every facet of their lives – from work to shopping, friendships to family.
Cisco’s Connected World Technology Report for 2012 found that, if university students and young professionals aged 18 to 30 had to choose only one device, 28% of South African respondents preferred a smartphone, while 35% favoured a laptop.
Tablets are not far behind: 24% of South African respondents would choose a tablet, while 11% of South African respondents favoured desktop computers.
The results for South Africa are based on a survey commissioned by Cisco of 1,800 young people across 18 countries.
Additional key findings in South Africa included:
- 64% of the South African respondents find themselves sub-consciously or compulsively checking their smartphones for emails, texts or social media updates;
- Of those, women are more driven to connect: 74% of women versus 58% of men find themselves often compulsively checking their cellphone for text, emails, social media updates;
- 44% of respondents would “feel anxious, like part of me was missing” if they couldn’t check their smartphones or cellphones constantly;
- Of those compulsive smart phone users, 69% wish they didn’t feel so compelled.
Alpheus Mangale, MD for Cisco in South Africa said: “Mobile devices are just the beginning and only the tip of the iceberg – the world is only just beginning to reap the benefits of this ever-changing Internet era.”
“As more and more people, devices, sensors, crops, animals and other living things connect to the Internet, the volume and potential value of all the data generated by those connections will grow exponentially.”
“Cisco believes that in the very near future, South African people and businesses will be able to take advantage of device-to-device communication to make decisions and deliver services and applications in real time.”
The Apps revolution
According to Cisco, 71% of respondents said mobile applications are important to their daily lives, while just over half (51%) said they mainly use mobile applications for games and entertainment. Two out of 10 respondents mainly use mobile applications for work.
How many apps do you need?
Cisco noted that of all those apps being downloaded daily, a surprisingly low number are actually used on a regular basis. The majority of the South African Gen Y respondents (81%) report using fewer than 10 smartphone apps regularly, and only 13% of respondents said they use 10 to 25 apps regularly.
Company policy
Moving into the business world, almost one-third (32%) said their company’s policy forbids them to use company-issued devices for non-work activities, yet 69% said they don’t always obey those policies.
In South Africa, 72% of information technology professionals believe employees are obeying policies designed to prevent work devices being used for personal use.
Online shopping
Seven in 10 respondents in South Africa said they engage in online shopping, while 65% reported they regularly rely on customer reviews when deciding on online purchases.
Surprisingly, almost three out of five are willing to share their email address with stores and online sites in order to receive notices about discounts and sales. “But they are wary of sharing much more than that – few are willing to share phone numbers, home address or other personal data,” Cisco said.
Social
Up to 95% of South African 18-30 year olds surveyed reported having a Facebook account, while one-third of the respondents update their Facebook site at least once a day, and over a quarter (28%) update Facebook several times a day.
Cisco also found that 93% of respondents upload photos to share or store on internet sites and 63% upload videos to share or store on internet sites.
Sixty-four percent of respondents have a Twitter account, and 15% tweet at least once a day.
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