Today, marketers and researchers look to the internet for everything. We are at the height of the digital era; our use of technology has become more and more connected to our thoughts, knowledge, and attitudes about platforms, situations, and people, including the ongoing debate over Elon Musk buying Twitter. From an academic and professional standpoint, this connection is fascinating, and it has even helped various companies grow their audience and profit margins. Organizations like Duolingo are a great example of this, as the language learning website realized that TikTok is one of the most relevant ways to generate fan engagement. Today, the account has four million followers and several videos with millions of views and comments.
Internet Usage Among Demographics
Yet, determining a target audience’s technology usage, which, in turn, provides their technological age, does not always have to do with which social media apps they use the most. Sometimes, we have to go back to the basics, such as by looking at the usage share of web browsers. If you don’t know, the usage share of web browsers refers to the percentage of visitors accessing a group of websites through a particular web browser. For example, in this new quiz for someone’s technological age, one of the main questions asks respondents for their preferred browser. It is a multiple choice-based quiz, and the options include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Brave, and Chrome.
Answers to this question can be very telling. In 2021, Chrome was the number one most-used browser on mobile phones. That is an interesting statistic since younger generations typically dominate the mobile phone market. Additionally, older users tend to use tablets or e-readers, and the number one browser for tablets is Safari, Mac’s version of Internet Explorer.
Likewise, as per desktop browser market share in 2021, Firefox was used primarily on desktops. If someone selected the Firefox option in the quiz, this could again indicate that someone has an older technological age. Why? Because Millennials and Gen Z tend to opt for mobile phones in their spare time rather than desktops, although other factors are also covered to make sure this isn’t just an anomaly such as how many hours a day someone spends on screens, excluding work and school. Respondents who answer between 4-5 and 6 or more hours likely have a young technological age as we know many Millennials and Gen Zs spend around five hours a day on TikTok alone.
Building a business means understanding your consumers’ habits. Years ago, this would refer to spending habits in retail stores and establishments. Today, in the digital era, most of these habits that businesses want to know have to do with their target audience’s technology use, attitude, and knowledge. Conducting this sort of research can be daunting since there are so many social media platforms that produce a wide range of data. However, it is important to remember that other factors play into someone’s technological age, even down to simple things like their preferred browser.
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