The new family unit

Teens are often seen as the leaders in technology consumption. Tuned into the latest advancements, these insatiable technophiles have been the first at the telecoms table. But with parents becoming more tech aware, the family feast is transforming.

June 1, 2007

Ericsson's award-winning ethnographic report*, entitled Communication and Media Consumption in the Home, reveals how the face of the technological family is changing. Mikael Eriksson-Björling and Erik Kruse, researchers from Ericsson's ConsumerLab and authors of the report, studied consumer behavior in three countries: Spain, Sweden, and the US. Focusing on how people use communication and media in the home, they observed 18 families with teenagers to assess maturity in the use of technology from a sociological perspective.

"The communication revolution is changing everyday life at an increasing speed," the report states. "Digital and online technologies play an ever greater, more central role in the lives of consumers." With the rapid growth in usage of everyday technology, the structure of the home environment is changing. Before, it was predominantly teens using computers, mobile phones and the TV simultaneously. Now, many parents are doing the same. Technology is bringing families together in ways they have never been before.

Other conclusions from the report are:

The mobile phone is the primary tool for everyday communication between family members. Easier and more user-friendly file-sharing systems between mobile phones and home computers could benefit multi-user families, providing they are easy to set up and use, and are included in family-plan subscriptions.
Developing more advanced presence modes and functions for screening mobile calls could ensure better flow of, and control over, communication, and better protect the time spent at home from the communication demands of the outside world.
In order for services to have real value in everyday family life, they must be developed not only for the individual, but also for the family's shared interests.
There is a demand to use the TV for several computer tasks that are individual today due to the limited location of the PC in the home. Families want to share images or video clips, surf the web, and watch TV together. A larger TV screen and the comfort of the living room would facilitate usage as a family.

Technology is not just for teens anymore. These functions can be further developed to place consumers where they really want to be: in control of technology and together as a family.

* The report won the Best Paper at the 2006 ESOMAR Telecom conference, and was nominated for the ESOMAR Excellence Award for the Best Paper.