At the start of 2021, 55% of U.S. households included someone working from home and 43% had someone schooling from home. (Photo: Shutterstock)
If you've lost track of how many digital devices are being used in your household, you're probably not alone. A new report from Deloitte finds that the pandemic created a crash course in the use of digital devices for working and learning from home, and with that increased use of technology, other upgrades took place, as Americans adjusted to a new level of life online.
Deloitte's Connectivity & Mobile Trends 2021 Survey found that 2020 was a kind of stress test for Americans and their digital habits; some people were more prepared than others, but all had to make adjustments. "As lockdowns shook fundamental pillars of the economy and challenged the inescapable requirements of living, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated ongoing trends in connectivity and technology, further blurring the lines between our physical lives and the digital world," the report said. "With work, school, medical visits, fitness, and retail shopping all crowding into the home, rapidly shifting needs drove sudden demands for an evolving suite of connected devices and digital services."
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The report noted that changes to the digital household—improvements to broadband and data plan—were common, along with new devices and new applications to learn about. But the Deloitte report added that some of the biggest challenges were human factors: changes to work habits, new issues around work/life balance, more distractions, and fewer outside human connections.
More devices, new habits
The survey found that the average U.S. household now has a total of 25 connected devices, across 14 different categories—more than double the number found in the 2019 survey, when the average household had 11 devices. The devices included laptops, tablets, smartphones, wireless devices such as earbuds, gaming consoles, smart home devices, streaming TVs, and connected exercise machines.
Smart home devices are now used by a majority of households; sixty-six percent of homes in the survey now have them, and 29% of those device owners paid for increased internet speed.
Virtual doctor visits increased; more than 50% of U.S. adults had online health care visits in 2020. "These services barely existed before COVID-19, and health care providers scrambled to quickly deliver and scale programs," the Deloitte study said. "Notwithstanding some inevitable hiccups with this first generation of virtual doctor's visits, 82% of those using them claimed to be satisfied with the experience."
At the same time, change is never easy: thirty-one percent of those surveyed admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the number of devices and subscriptions they needed to manage.
Virtual homework for children and adults alike
The survey found that around half of Americans were working or learning remotely: At the start of 2021, 55% of U.S. households included someone working from home and 43% had someone schooling from home.
The switch to remote work and learning brought considerable challenges, the survey found. Among the challenges was connectivity: Twenty-eight percent of home workers and 32% of homeschoolers reported that they struggled to connect to the internet from certain locations in their home.
Other issues for workers included the inability to meet face-to-face with colleagues or clients, working longer hours than they would have with in-person work, and being distracted by non-work activities. Students learning remotely had similar issues: they reported their top challenges included getting distracted by non-school online activities, not being able to meet face-to-face with teachers and classmates, and doing more schoolwork than if in-person.
The report concluded by noting that the survey suggests that people can and will embrace change—even in a relatively short time period. This recent "beta test" of technology adoption may spark even greater innovation in the future, the authors wrote, as long as the focus is on serving people and meeting their needs.
"The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was like a time machine that suddenly propelled us tens of years into the future," said Paul Silverglate, vice chairman and U.S. technology sector leader for Deloitte. "It has changed how we interact with our connected devices, ultimately helping consumers, health care providers, education professionals, technology innovators and others adapt, innovate and thrive in our daily lives."
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