“The new digimeter shows that almost everyone in Flanders now has the capability to be online whenever, wherever. Only 6% say they have no smart, connected devices in their homes,” says Professor Lieven De Marez (imec - Ghent University). “Thus, the adoption of smart devices is reaching saturation point. We are only seeing an increase in the number of smartphones (from 68.5% in 2015 to 74% in 2016) and wearables (from 7.6% to 13.2%).”
Social media, on the other hand, are still on the up. Eight out of ten Flemish people use at least one social media channel every month (as opposed to 72% in 2015), 26% use as many as four each month. Facebook is still at number one (69% use Facebook monthly) – but YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest are gaining traction. Yet, particularly among young people, the Facebook hype has passed: only 4 in 10 consider it the most important social media platform.
Do we actually use all these smart services and devices in a smart way? To answer this question, digimeter distinguishes between four types of Flemings based on their media usage and attitude:
In line with the increasing number of smartphones and the growing use of social media, the ‘digibesity’ trend is also continuing apace. In the 15 to 39-year-old category, for example, one in three people indicate that they are dependent on their smartphone and four in ten feel dependent on social media (with a peak of 55% in the group of 20 to 29-year-olds). One quarter are dependent on both, and suffer from ’digibesity’ (across all age categories, digibesity impacts 13% of Flemish people).
“This doesn’t really come as a surprise, as smart devices and services take advantage of certain mechanisms – such as push messages – to exacerbate that addiction,” Professor De Marez explains. “But here, too, we have noticed a form of self-regulation emerging. Teenagers, in particular, are already displaying far more awareness of these issues – for example by cutting themselves off from the digital tsunami during exam periods (in the library).”
“In other words: people in their twenties and thirties are often those who are most likely to have a problematic relationship with digital media. They need to regain control of that technology. However, they too are starting to actively adapt their behavior, for example by putting away their smartphones during meetings and conversations or turning off push messages,” he concludes.
Note: on the imec website, you will find two interactive graphs that allow you to correlate various digimeter data with one another. Be sure to take a look at www.imec.be/digimeter.