Digital technology has transformed the way people communicate, socialize, work, shop, play, travel and more. And this has increased their reliance on the technology, which makes it that much more frustrating when something goes wrong.
Technology Frustration
According to a study by Asurion, 80% of Americans experience some type of tech frustration every day. The number goes up to 5 per day for 53% of Americans, and 30% say it is more than five times each day. And there are some which experience up to 40 daily tech frustrations.
If you are a small business owner and this frustration is directed towards your website, mobile app, or other digital presence, you might never see your customers again. Which is why you must do all you can to keep everything on your end up and running.
Even if everything is in tip-top shape on your end, it doesn’t resolve the tech frustration consumers face elsewhere. And as Bettie Colombo, spokesperson for Asurion, said in the press release, people have better things to do. “No one wants to spend such a large part of their day trying to get their tech to work the way it should. After all, it’s the very thing that’s supposed to make our lives easier.”
Asurion has a unique perspective on the tech frustration people experience. The company helps over 300 million people around the world with their tech related issues. To better understand these pain points, Asurion conducted a study along with OnePoll.
The study looked at the tech habits of 2,000 Americans, and these are some of the most pressing issues the poll identified.
The Most Frustrating Tech for Americans
The most frustrating tech for Americans is WiFi, which is not that surprising. Considering the amount of time people are on their smartphones or laptops using WiFi, any connection related problem will quickly receive the wrath of users.
Four out of five Americans say they are very frustrated or somewhat frustrated with dropped or slow connections.
So, not being able to connect to WiFi is almost as frustrating, which is why it is at number two. More than a third or 38% say they are frustrated because they are not able to connect, and another 34% are somewhat frustrated.
The fact the biggest issues are related to connectivity highlights how much Americans rely on their mobile device. Smartphones have become an integral part of the way people live today. Whether it is finding a location or ordering food, when this connectivity is lost, the frustration is quick to surface.
Two issues are identified as the number three problem, one of which is also related to connectivity. Slow downloads and buffering and issues logging in to the device or app is frustrating for 71% of the respondents.
Some of the other frustrating tech-related problems are battery life, computer or app crashes, forgetting passwords, and security issues/viruses.
Frustrating Devices
In order to get frustrated with technology, people have to use the devices which cause this ire. And at the top of the list is the smartphone. Americans have gotten so frustrated with their phone, 55% said they have broken them after throwing them so hard.
The smartphone is the number one source of frustration for 75% of Americans. This was followed by laptops (61%), internet routers (61%), tablets (56%), and streaming devices (51%).
The initial tech frustration is just the beginning. Americans say they are just as frustrated with the amount of time it takes to fix the issue. More than 40% say they spend over 10 minutes per tech incident to resolve the problem. Some incidents can take much longer.
If you are running a business and your tech is down for more than 10 minutes that is time you can ill afford to lose. Make sure you have a backup and recovery system in place so you can be up running as soon as possible.
Image: Depositphotos.com
I think life in general is frustrating. 200 years ago people were probably frustrated with their crops, the weather or their animals. Now we’re frustrated with technology.
As a business, aim to reduce frustration, but realize that you’ll never eliminate it entirely.
My frustration is not so much with connectivity which is quite reliable for me*, but due to crappy programs that are poorly designed and confusing to navigate, often resulting in an endless loop where you never get where you need to be. Services programs (unemployment, health insurance and job applications) are among the worst and waste a great deal of time. They are over complicated, and not designed by people who think as most people do. Many times they skip subtle steps that assume the user knows, but does not, and are crucial to successfully using the program. There is too much on a page and in tiny print, and once frustratration sets in, it is easy to not see what’s right in front of you. Wondering if others share this experience.
I completely agree with Janet. I would like to add that Android has gotten much more frustrating to use thanks to Google. They are a trillion dollar company but cannot create apps and an OS that isn’t riddled with bugs. Google Maps is often a nightmare to use and doesn’t provide accurate or useful navigation. Google music is buggy and often doesn’t play music like it’s supposed to. Android is buggy and counterintuitive. I upgraded from v7 to v9 and the new version is much worse in many ways. I have heard from uses on Android 11 how frustrating their experience is. People creating software have their hands tied by poor managers. The reason technology is so frustrating is because the people creating it just don’t understand everyday users. It’s only getting worse, not better.
You are so right! I’m sorry to hear that Android is getting worse because I am so frustrated with the newest iPhones, I’m planning to switch. It must be universal – I’ve noticed the decline in the design of electronic devices most of us need to use every day. Things like appliances and automobiles.