When Technology Fails Pdf Download
Lillia Iniguez
This data memo is based on a survey of 2,054 adults between October 24, 2007, and December 2, 2007. Some 734 respondents in the survey were technology users who had at least one device fail in the past year.
It is often the case that new technologies become popular well before the technology itself is understood by the general public: as these technologies gain traction, it is not always intuitive for new users to know how to use them, much less fix them when they break. And there are always some users who catch on faster than others to new technology.
Most Americans probably still do not know the science behind the flip of a light switch. But they probably know that when the lights are out to check the breaker, and, when the breaker fails to fix the problem, to call the electric company. Nearly all Americans know how to pick up a receiver and dial a seven-digit combination of numbers, but most do not know how those numbers add up to connect their phone with another phone across the country. Similarly, the amateur photographer wielding a point-and-shoot digital camera probably does not fully grasp the physics behind the lenses inside, but he probably knows how to aim and press a button. But when the line is dead or a camera fails to click, many users are likely to contact the telephone company or take the camera to a repair shop.
So where would computers, cell phones, Blackberries, MP3 players and the internet fit in to this picture? Do owners know enough about their Blackberries to fix the devices themselves when they break? Do users know enough about what goes on inside their computers to even know when they need a checkup? Could Americans still get the information they need, or be able to communicate as easily with their friends and family, if their cell phones broke or their internet connection failed?
A home internet connection is the technology most likely to fail, with 44% of home internet users reporting that their internet failed in the past 12 months. Computers are the second most common device to fail, followed by cell phones, Blackberries and iPods. PDAs and MP3 players are the devices least likely to have failed in the past year, and of owners who had multiple devices fail, very few reported that their Blackberries or iPods had been the device to fail most recently.3All demographic groups are about equally likely to have certain devices fail them, though seniors who own cell phones are significantly less likely than younger cell phone owners to have problems with their cell phones. Just 18% of cell phone owners 65 years old and older reported that their cell phones had failed in the past year, while 26% of 50-64 year olds, 33% of 30-49 year olds and 30% of 18-29 year olds reported cell phone problems. Seniors are not as exclusively reliant on their cell phones as younger owners, and so they may have less wear and tear on their phones than do younger users who are more likely to experience cell phone failure. Significantly more seniors than 18-49 year olds who own cell phones also have landline phones at home. Fully 79% of senior cell phone owners also have regular phones, while just 30% of 18-29 year olds and 52% of 30-49 year olds have both types of phones.
Some 15% of all technology users with failed devices fixed the problem with help from family or friends, and those with computer (18%) and internet (15%) failures were significantly more likely than those with cell phone problems (7%) to get help from family or friends.
Cell phones were the device least likely to be fixed, as nearly one-fourth (23%) of those with broken cell phones were unable to fix problems they had with their cell phones. Some 19% of those with broken computers reported not being able to fix their computers, while significantly fewer were left without internet (7%). Put another way, while 77% of cell phone owners were successful fixing their phones when they broke, 93% of those whose home internet connection failed were able to fix it.
When a home internet connection fails, broadband may be trickier to fix than dial-up without help from customer support. Based on those who reported a failed home internet connection, broadband users were much more likely to seek user support for help (49% v. 27%). The problems, however, were equally likely to be fixed, with just 6% of dial-up users and 7% of broadband users unable to fix the problem.
Respondents who fixed their broken technology themselves were also significantly less likely to report being confused than those who found other solutions or were unable to fix their devices. Some 29% of fix-it-yourselfers reported being confused, compared with 49% of those who consulted friends and family, 42% of those who contacted user support and 46% of those who could not fix the problem.
The 52% of tech users who are comfortable learning to use new devices on their own are more likely to be independent and confident device fixers. Some 35% of this group, compared with 19% of those who need help with new devices, fixed broken technology on their own; and, 81% of the more tech-savvy group said they felt confident during the course of fixing their devices, while 62% of those who need with devices help felt confident. Both groups, however, are equally likely to contact user support for help and are equally likely to fix their broken devices in the end.
Younger users are generally much more optimistic than older adults when their gadgets fail. Although young adults age 18-29 years old are no more likely to be able fix devices on their own, they were significantly more likely to be confident that they were on the right path to fixing it, and they were significantly less likely than older adults to feel discouraged or confused about fixing devices. Fully 85% of 18-29 year olds reported being confident about solving their device problem, while only about a third of them said they were discouraged or confused. Meanwhile, over half (52%) of adults age 30 and older reported being discouraged, 44% said they were confused, and about two out of three (67%) said they were confident. Adults age 30-49 were somewhat less likely than older adults to be confused, as just 39% said they were.
"We imagine that we live in the age of information, but this engrossing book reminds us of how comparatively little we know. Most human communities used to know how to provide water and food and energy for themselves, but most of the tips in this comprehensive account will come as news to most Americans. You may never need to put them into practice (or you may need them this winter when home heating prices soar) but at the very least they illuminate the state of our comparative ignorance."--Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy
"You don't need to be a survivalist to appreciate this book. If you are thoughtful. If you seek a simpler, more sustainable life or if you feel as though technology has already failed us in the ways that matter, this is a book you want in your personal library."--Kathy Harrison, author of Just In Case: How to Be Self-Sufficient When the Unexpected Happens
"We may all need a survival reference when technology fails. Matthew provides one--fact-filled, with useful tips on all aspects of survival, clothing, food, shelter, water, etc., including such vital subjects as grazing and the green pharmacy."--James A. Duke, economic botanist, USDA (ret.), and author of The Green Pharmacy
"I liked this book. It's carefully researched, comprehensive, well illustrated, and readable. It presents much needed alternate information, for, in my opinion, technology has already 'failed' ...So replacement of polluting 'high' technologies with non-polluting 'low' ones is urgent, and Matthew Stein's handbook systematically and accurately surveys a wide array of possible low-tech options. Much hard work, time, and talent went into the building of this basic reference survey of low-tech options."--Carla Emery, author, The Encyclopedia of Country Living: An Old-Fashioned Recipe Book
"Matthew Stein has done us all a tremendous favor by searching far and wide for useful knowledge. In this era of specialization, personal and social viability depend on expansive thinking. When Technology Fails is itself a powerful expression of the technology of sustainable living. It teaches more skills than I thought possible in just one book and rightly combines the immediacy of an emergency escape plan with the urgency for long-term thinking."--Mathis Wackernagel, Executive Director of the Global Footprint Network
"When Technology Fails is a comprehensive guide and compendium of the tools society will require as it reaches the convergence of hyper-inflation, oil depletion, and environmental limitations; in other words, at the point where technology fails."--William Kemp, author of The Renewable Energy Handbook
"When Technology Fails. . . Like that's some sort of unlikely future possibility! Technology is always failing while people stand around befuddled about what to do. With Mat Stein's book, when push comes to shove, you can be your own veritable MacGyver. Not only does it provide us with the information we need to plan for, and deal with, potential emergencies and disasters, it also shows us how we can live more sustainably and self-reliantly in today's world of climate change and gas prices that are going through the ceiling. This is the sort of ingenuity for which Americans have been famous. When Technology Fails is to the mechanical world what Joy of Cooking is to the world of cooking. In other words, the encyclopedia every home should have on hand. Keep it right next to the emergency flashlight and your Swiss Army knife."--David Blume, permaculturist and author of Alcohol Can Be A Gas!
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