Two-fifths of adults own and use a voice-activated personal assistant or smart speaker device, finds survey

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16th May 2022 23:59 - Information Technology

Two-fifths of adults own and use a voice-activated personal assistant or smart speaker device: A survey of households in England has found that two-fifths (39%) of adults own and use a voice-activated personal assistant or smart speaker device. It also revealed details about other technology owned and used by people liv‌ing in England.

The findings were uncovered following the government's Participation Survey October to December 2021, commissioned by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and published in April 2022. The survey polled 13,536 people online (83%) while 2,691 (17%) completed a paper version of the questionnaire.

The survey revealed that the majority of respondents owned and used a WiFi router or internet hub in their home, with 90% also reporting owning a Smartphone. Six in 10 also said that they owned and used a laptop, while almost a third (31%) said they owned and used a smart energy device to monitor their energy usage. 

Focusing on smartphones (owned and used by 90% of respondents), the survey asked how long a device was kept and used before upgrading or replacing it, with 37% saying they had theirs 'at least 2 years but less than 3 years', while nearly a quarter (23%) said they have had theirs for 'at least 3 years but less than 4 years'. 

Asked about where they typically buy their devices from, almost half the respondents polled said they bought theirs from a mobile phone network provider (49%), the top answer given, while 39% said they bought their devices from an online store. Almost a third of the adults polled said that they purchased their smart device from a high street or retail park (32%). 

The most popular answer given by respondents when asked what they did with their no-longer needed mobile phones, was that they gave them to family and friends (38%), followed by keeping them as a spare (35%) and trading them for another product (27%). 

Digital training

Asked about digital training, a fifth of respondents said they had taken part in digital or online skills training, (20%), while a third (32%) said that they would be interested in such training, although the majority said that they would only be interested if it was a free course.  More than two-thirds said they believed it was 'very' or 'fairly important' to keep up with developing online skills.

One in five respondents said that they would not be interested in a digital or online skills course as they prefer to learn themselves. However, almost half the respondents polled (49%) said that they would not be interested in doing any digital or online skills training.

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