What We Learned from 100+ Interviews with Millennials on Technology
Commissioned by a tech startup called teleobjects, we conducted more than 100 interviews to understand the relationship young millennials have with their technology.
Here, we’d like to share a snapshot of the key insights that came out of our emotion-focused research methods.
1. We mapped out the emotional landscape at large.
2. We dove into more nuanced feelings people have with technology.
a. Feeling empowered
As technology, especially smart phone, becomes such an intrinsic part of people’s work and life, it feels like a part of human body as well. A sense of empowerment is fueled by the boundless knowledge and great access to resources offered by the Internet.
It fills a void that I wouldn’t have had in a person. I would view it as like an extension of my brain that I wouldn’t normally have.
b. Feeling uneasy
With greater power to learn, experience and share comes more ‘responsibilities,’ as well as anxiety, whether it is from social pressure, or a higher expectation of one’s self.
There’s a stigma of taking photos of things, so I wish there was a way to take photos and record everything discretely. I don’t want to be ‘that person.’ I take a lot of pride in being present.
c. Feeling trapped
It can feel like a black hole of information that sucks us in. And only after being finally spit out, do we realize that we’re not free and we’re trapped.
I feel guilty about using my phone more at home. I don’t need it then. I don’t have meetings at home. If anything, people need me to use it during the day for work. I feel like there’s better things to do with my time. Spending an hour on my phone is not a fulfilling experience. It makes me feel worse.
d. Feeling doubtful
Seeking a more mindful and present lifestyle, young millennials are questioning technology’s impact on their everyday life.
I’m very skeptical of any new technology and how it might change my life. Like, how is it really going to make my life better.
3. We identified top three key emotional needs that are underserved.
1. To be a better person
I would like my phone to be a really smart psychologist. I’d like it to be really smart and really moral to help me be a better person. It could catch me and tell me if I was being a jerk or not doing a good job understanding the other person. But to do that it would have to be very integrated into my privacy.
2. To be more independent
I try to decompress from technology and I’ve been not even looking at phone very much lately. I’m all about self-hacking, life-hacking and conscious about how it affects my mind.
3. Be connected at a deeper level
Social media is off limits and I’m happy it’s not part of my life, because I can’t help but use it all the time and rather form relationship with people that are really close to me.
We are continuously updating our emotive insight bank on this topic. If you have any stories you’d like to share about ‘the emotional influences of technology,’ please write to us at hello@mattermindstudio.com.
Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!
