« Repeat after me: Not everyone has Internet access | Main | What executives want to say, not what employees want to hear »
June 02, 2006
Your future workforce is wired (and wireless)
Here’s another reason to become informed about up-and-coming communication technologies (cell phones, PDAs, iPods, etc.): Today’s young people are using these devices practically from the time they are born. That means that by the time they enter the workforce, young employees will experience these devices as being an integral part of day-to-day life.
As reported in Advertising Age, a new study by NPD Group, “Kids and Consumer Electronics Report,” shows that kids are regularly using personal music devices, digital cameras and DVD players by age 7. Furthermore, from 2004 to 2005, the number of kids aged 4 to 14 who own music devices and digital cameras doubled, while cell phone ownership in this age group increased 50% since last year.
According to the study, the top products personally owned (“It’s mine! You can’t have it!”) by children were video-game systems (40%), CD players (40%) and TVs (31%). But the top electronic product in households with kids aged 4 to14 was the desktop computer (94%), followed by DVD players and TVs (90%).
Children’s increasing usage of cool devices just follows an overall trend: The dominance of electronics. A Consumer Electronics Association March survey showed the average household owns 26 consumer electronic products and spends about $1,200 a year on consumer electronics.
Your CIO is thinking about how to leverage electronic devices, as we reported in an issue of Technology Tidbits. Is incorporating this technology on your radar screen and in your long-term communication plan?
Posted by Alison Davis at June 2, 2006 02:29 PM