The industry will soon be in the position where more than 50 percent of online adults say that mobiles are their most important connected device. Even over the last year alone, mobiles have seen a 10-point jump on this metric, while laptops and desktops have both experienced small declines, as per data from Global Web Index.
Although it’s not the most surprising correlation, the link between age and device importance is particularly striking. It’s among 16-24 multi-device users where mobiles have already pushed past the 50 percent mark, with 25-34s about to cross the same threshold too. Numbers then fall in line with age, dropping off the proverbial cliff among 55-64s to stand at just 14 percent. Put another way, 16-24s are about four times as likely to choose a mobile as 55-64s. Conversely, the older you are, the greater the likelihood that you will select a desktop PC as your most important device.
There’s a similar story by region. Over 50 percent of multi-device users in Middle East/Africa and the Asia Pacific will select a mobile as their top device. In contrast, in Europe and North America, mobiles struggle to get past the 25 percent mark.
Despite being something of a generalization, it’s broadly true to say that other age groups and regions eventually tend to follow where 16-24s and emerging markets have led for mobile. So if it’s these trend-setting audiences which already see mobiles as their most integral devices, the same attitudes can be expected to be gaining strength elsewhere.
