Parents Way More Tech-Savvy Than Their Millennial Kids Think
October 06 2016 - 11:00AM
Business Wire
Survey reveals whopping disconnect between
18-34 year-olds and their parents
Millennials and their parents may agree on some things, but in
surprising ways, technology isn’t one of them.
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New Best Buy survey reveals tech
disconnect between millennial children and their parents. (Graphic:
Business Wire)
A new Parent-Millennial Child Tech Survey from Best Buy finds
that fewer than one-third of millennials think their parents are
very comfortable buying the right personal tech for themselves.
Parents strongly disagree, however, with 66 percent saying they do
just fine, thank you very much.
The just-released survey reveals similar misconceptions about
tech support among parents and their millennial kids: almost half
(47 percent) of millennials say their parents turn to them for tech
help at least once a week. But parents say they’re not nearly so
dependent on their kids: only 17 percent said they seek help from
their kids that often. Parents do admit, though, to asking their
children for help, with more than half saying they ask for help at
least once a month.
“We're often told that young people are more interested in and
know more about technology than older adults, but that isn’t
necessarily true,” said Derek Meister, a Cleveland-based Agent with
Best Buy’s Geek Squad. “This survey reinforces what we see every
day — parents are often tech savvy and seek advice in very
different ways.”
Among the survey’s other key findings:
- Millennials give parents little
credit for making the most of their tech. While 60 percent of
parents claim they know how to get the most from their technology,
only 33 percent of adult children give their parents credit for
really understanding their gear.
- Dad relies on reviews, mom on
son. Gender also plays a role in sourcing tech advice. Among
parents who considered their children to be the most trustworthy
source of advice, 64 percent are moms and 36 percent are dads. Dad,
in fact, prefers expert reviews (60 percent) to advice from his
millennial son or daughter. Moms tend to turn to their sons for
tech help more often than their daughters, with 39 percent of sons
being tapped compared with 28 percent of daughters.
- Smart home devices intrigue – and
confuse. In an interesting paradox, smart home devices are the
products parents are most interested in but confess they’re not
confident enough to buy (20 percent). Parents also have interest
but lack confidence in selecting streaming devices (18 percent),
smartwatches (13 percent) and home theater systems (13
percent).
- Happy to help, regardless. One
source of agreement from the survey? Some 62 percent of parents say
their adult children are happy to help and 58 percent of adult
children confirmed that.Geek Squad Agent Meister serves clients of
all generations and has been his own parents’ tech guru for
decades. He offers this advice for millennials who are called upon
by mom or dad for tech support:
- Understand the issue is comfort, not
ability. Don’t underestimate your parents’ interest or ability.
Find out specifically what about their tech makes them
uncomfortable and help them overcome that. For example,
touchscreens come naturally to a teenager but not necessarily to
someone older – the nerves in the finger are less sensitive with
age, and older people may touch more heavily. Help them compensate
for that.
- Simplify their tech. “I love tech, but
I know not everybody else does,” Agent Meister said. “If your mom
is frustrated by her laptop, smart phone or tablet, find ways to
simplify things.” Uninstalling apps mom doesn’t use is one way
to reduce the likelihood that she gets lost in the options. You
might want to go as far as replacing her tech with something
simpler.
Of course Best Buy Blue Shirts and Geek Squad Agents assist
people of all ages with technology, and are just a click or call
away. Help for every technology is available at approximately 1,400
Best Buy stores nationwide, as well as online, by phone and
in-home. For more information visit www.bestbuy.com
The Best Buy Parent-Child Tech Survey was conducted from Aug. 27
– Sept. 6, 2016, among 2,000 U.S. consumers. About half of the
respondents were parents of adult children and took a “parent”
survey; the other half were children aged 18-34 with living adult
parents and took the “adult child” survey. The margin of error was
+/- 3 percent.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161006005960/en/
Best Buy Public RelationsPaula Baldwin,
612-231-5146press@bestbuy.com
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