Teenagers aged 15 to 19 years old are the most likely to struggle with technology addiction, according to a global survey conducted by GfK. Just under half (44 percent) of teenagers firmly stated that they found it difficult to take a tech break, even when they know they should. This dips to 41 percent for those in their twenties and to 38 percent for those in their thirties. It then falls significantly for the older age groups, standing at 29 percent of those in their forties, 23 percent for those in their fifties and just 15 percent for those aged 60 and over.
Just over a third of people (34 percent) in the online survey of 17 countries agreed that they “find it difficult to take a break from technology (my mobile device, computer, TV, etc.), even when I know I should”. This compares to less than half that number (16 percent) who firmly disagree that it is difficult to take a break. The findings showed that, internationally, gender makes next to no difference in people’s struggle to turn off their devices or ‘unplug’ from technology, with nearly equal percentages of both men and women agreeing they find it difficult.
However, for people living in high-income households (across all 17 countries), 39 percent find it difficult to take a break from technology, even when they know they should, while 11 percent find it easy – a gap of 28 percentage points. This contrasts to those in low-income households, where 30 percent find it difficult, while 20 percent find it easy – a gap of only 10 percentage points.
In terms of countries, China (43 percent) has the highest percentage of online population who strongly agree that they find it difficult to break from technology, closely followed by the Latin American countries surveyed (Brazil 42 percent, Argentina 40 percent, Mexico 38 percent), with the US coming fifth (31 percent). On the other side, Germany has the highest percentage (35 percent) of online population who strongly disagree that taking a break from tech is difficult, followed by the Netherlands (30 percent), Belgium (28 percent) and Canada and Russia (both 27 percent).
