Australians are adopting new technologies at an ever-increasing rate, improving social and business efficiency but also allowing work to infiltrate into users’ personal lives.
A new Sensis report, which surveyed 1800 businesses and 1500 consumers around the country, found that use of technology is up significantly across age groups.
“Australians are taking up new technology in droves and it is proving to be quite addictive for some people,” said Christena Singh, author of the report.
Somewhat alarmingly, the report found that children in one third of households are not supervised while online.
Most children in Australian homes start using the internet between the ages of six and 10, the report found.
But in almost 20% of households, children are on the web before they turn five.
Additionally, only 40% of homes with children use an internet content filter, despite high levels of awareness of the federal government’s netalert.gov.au program.
Social networking
Social networking in particular has surged in popularity, with 41% of Australians currently using social networking websites.
“Social networking sites and online chat rooms are certainly now a commonplace activity for Australian children,” said Singh.
And it’s not just limited to the young, according to the report.
“While usage does decrease progressively with age, we are seeing social networking sites penetrating the older demographics as well.”
About 70% of Australians in their 20s use social networking sites. This drops to 40% for those in their 30s and 19% for those aged between 50 and 64 years old.
Business
A clear majority of SMBs (75%) have banned the use of social networking websites at work.
But new technology is infiltrating the workplace in other ways, including through mobile email.
“This year we have seen mobile technology and e-commerce further penetrating the business market, to the point it can now be seen as a standard business tool,” Singh said.
About 10% of Australians have a phone with email access.
“Mobile email devices appear to be a boon for business, creating always-connected employees and business owners,” Singh said.
More than 60% of these users never turn off their device, leading a substantial proportion of users to answer work-related emails while at home.
“Half of users told us they respond to work-related emails in their personal time, either always or most of the time.
“The intrusion into one’s personal life is seen as the biggest negative impact. However, Australians are very attached to this technology and would be reluctant to give it up,” Singh said.
Thirty per cent of users said they would definitely not consider giving up their device.
