WASHINGTON, DC — If there have been days when you felt compelled to take a hammer to an iPod or run over a laptop with an 18-wheeler, you’re not alone. According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, nearly half of all Americans experience technology frustration, especially when setting up a new device.Although information technology is well integrated into the lives of many Americans, gadgets and communication services often require a call for help the study found. Forty-eight percent of technology users usually need help from others to set up cell phones, internet connections and other gadgets or to determine how they function.
According to the Pew study, 44-percent of home internet connections have failed within the past 12 months. Within the same period, 39-percent of desktops and laptops failed to work properly and 29-percent of cell phones bailed on their owners. The overwhelming response includes impatience and discouragement.
“Struggles with modern gadgetry mean less engagement with the services they enable,” said John B. Horrigan, associate director of the Pew Internet Project and co-author of the report. “Time spent dealing with set-up or outages means less time using modern communication services to connect with friends or find information that might help people be more productive.”
Compounding the issue, a significant number of respondents reported being unable to fix the gadgets by themselves, with the help of friends or after calling in a professional.
“In an age in which new technologies are introduced almost daily, a new gadget or service can become popular well before the technology itself is understood by the average user,” said Sydney Jones, a research assistant at the Pew Internet & American Life Project and co-author of the report. “Naturally, some users catch on to new technology more quickly than others, and those who have more trouble grasping the technology are left confused, discouraged and reliant on help from others when their technology fails.”
Not only did users find different solutions to their device failures, but they reported varying attitudes during the course of trying to solve the problem. Overall, 72-percent felt confident that they were on the right track to solving the problem, 59 percent were frustrated because the broken device represented an important part of their daily life, 48-percent became discouraged by the amount of effort required to fix the problem, and 40-percent felt confused by the seemingly conflicting customer service information they were given.
The report conducted between October 24th, 2007 and December 2nd 2007, based on random sampling of 2,054 American adults.
