Sticking point: 35% of adults argue with family members about updating devices

According to the research, more than half of respondents who have family (62%), agree that children and elderly relatives need help with updating devices. Additionally, updates can affect relationships at home, with 35% of people admitting to having disputes about it with family members.

Devices have long become commonplace for people of all ages^[1]. Children use them to watch content and play games, and adults rely on them to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. It is important to remember, however, that every device requires timely updates in order to maintain a reliable level of security and high performance.

Disputes among family members about their disinterest or reluctance towards these regular updates comes as no surprise, given that 34% of surveyed adults find installing updates frustrating and annoying.

The survey also shows that, regardless of whether they live alone or with family, 77% of adults typically install updates on devices at home by themselves. Instances where individuals are responsible for their own gadgets are less common (12%). At the same time, according to those people surveyed, their partners (7%) and children (4%) rarely update devices.

“Because almost all members of modern families use gadgets, installing updates becomes a real family affair. The research results show that practically all family members are involved in this process to some extent. We see that more than a third (35%) of respondents even argue with family members about the importance of updates, which probably shows how seriously users take the safety of themselves and their loved ones online. Timely installation of updates helps to not only gain access to new functions and interfaces but also to maintain a high level of device security. This will keep the personal data of all family members safe, as well as ensure the fast and optimal operation of all devices,” comments Marina Titova, Head of Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky.

The full report is available via this link.

About the survey

In April 2021, Kaspersky commissioned Savanta to conduct an online survey of 15,000 respondents to explore people’s device update tendencies. The sample included 1,000 respondents from each of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain; and 500 from each of the USA, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Romania, UAE, Turkey, South Africa, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Russia. All respondents used a PC, smartphone and/or tablet for either their personal or work lives, and 76% of the respondents were currently employed.

About Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialized security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. Over 400 million users are protected by Kaspersky technologies and we help 240,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.

[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2017/05/17/technology-use-among-seniors/

    https://www.npr.org/2019/10/31/774838891/its-a-smartphone-life-more-than-half-of-u-s-children-now-have-one