Digital lifestyles

Living with – and on – the Internet is becoming the norm for more and more Germans. Broadband Internet is now an integral part of our everyday lives. But in what specific areas do consumers see broadband Internet as an especially significant part of their everyday lives? Respondents in the survey picked the aspects of leisure (67 percent) and educating oneself on current events and issues (64 percent) as important or very important functions of this technology. Almost 50 percent of consumers cited the value of broadband Internet technology for the workplace, education and continuing education as well as politics (Fig. 33).

Fig. 33:		Internet use in the digital life-style sphere (Consumers)

The digital lifestyle being adopted by increasing numbers of Germans is largely based on innovative broadband Internet applications. Over 75 percent of all consumers in the survey expected a huge increase in their use of broadband Internet both at work and home. They identified applications for keeping in touch and communication purposes as the most important ones in this context.

The trend towards the creation of an information society is unmistakable. This is reflected in a substantial decrease in the number of people with a conservative attitude towards the Internet, or a low level of use (see Fig. 34). Conversely, the strongest growth is in the members of the "IP generation," i.e. high Internet users. This user group is expected to grow by over 62 percent through 2015, when it will represent around 23 percent of the total Internet user population.

Fig. 34:		Trend in the mix of Internet user categories (Broadband experts)8

And there is every reason to expect further growth in usage levels. The experts surveyed identify one of the driving forces for the broadband Internet boom as the integration of digital applications for the whole family (Fig. 35). Another important factor is the way in which broadband Internet makes everyday life so much easier. The experts saw many areas of people”s lives being significantly enriched by digital applications.

Fig. 35:		Benefits of broadband Internet (Digital lifestyle experts)

The consumers appear to concur with the experts here. Many respondents had the impression of increasingly blurred distinctions between and online and offline world, leading to a stronger online focus for consumer requirements. So it comes as no surprise that around 55 percent of the consumers surveyed see an online presence as essential for traditional media publications (such as newspapers and magazines).

A glance in people’s living rooms reveals the extent of this merging of online and offline worlds: TVs hooked up to an Internet PC are an increasingly popular phenomenon. These combination products, consisting of a TV and stereo plus a PC component, for example a living room PC, represent a perfect symbiosis from the standpoint of tomorrow’s broadband Internet users. Our experts also forecast enormous growth in this area (Fig. 36).

Fig. 36:		Trends in networking televisions with Internet PCs in Germany (Digital lifestyle experts)9

The trend towards new, innovative terminal devices and broadband Internet applications can also be seen as a driver for the digital lifestyle in general. The experts surveyed in this study highlighted the importance of mobile applications and combinations of devices and services (Fig. 37). Mobile networks (78 percent) and the device combinations just mentioned (62 percent) attracted the highest ratings amongst the experts.

Fig. 37:		Drivers of the digital lifestyle (Digital lifestyle experts)

Integration is seen as one of the crucial requirements for success, both at the workplace and in our private lives. Two-thirds of the experts surveyed took this view, and also identified security concerns as being particularly important (Fig. 38). Over 90 percent of them regarded sophisticated network connections not merely as being clever technology for its own sake, but also as a far-reaching phenomenon embracing every aspect of our lives. And 87 percent agreed that innovative terminal devices play a vital role in enabling consumers to pursue this lifestyle and stay up to date. Almost 70 percent expected a further increase in the demand for Internet-based social networking.

Fig. 38:		The digital lifestyle in Germany (Digital lifestyle experts)

Multifunctional terminal devices and innovative broadband Internet applications are the cornerstones of our digital lifestyle, and make openings and opportunities available to more people, across the whole of society. This also applies in the "offline" parts of our lives: around 84 percent of the surveyed expects identified navigation and information applications as the most important elements of the digital lifestyle, as a service for users trying to find a suitable restaurant, for example. Other important aspects of the digital lifestyle in Germany were cited as communication in social networks (73 percent) and special-interest communities (68 percent) (see Fig. 39).

Fig. 39:		Elements of the digital lifestyle in Germany (Digital lifestyle experts)

Social networks and communities are an increasing phenomenon. The next section looks the specific trends and developments identified by the experts surveyed regarding the Social Web, and their forecasts for the future.