US Gadget ownership…we love our “windows”

Image by Pew Research

Ok – not “windows” in the sense you all were probably thinking.  When I say “windows” I mean those gadgets we love that enable us to create, store, share, and enjoy digital content.  Pew Research released a study on Gadget Ownership in the US, and it’s evident that the younger we get, the more windows we want.  It makes you wonder if there will ever be one big window that allows us to do everything we want to do… I doubt it.

To spare you all the details, I won’t summarize all of Pew’s findings, you can see for yourself by clicking on the chart.

What’s not surprising in Pew’s findings is the younger the generation, the more gadgets we own.  I, for one, am a Gen Xer and have 5 of the seven. The median in my group is 4 gadgets, so I am just slightly  “abnormal”.  Pew looked at adults 45 and under together, so I wonder what the median will be for the next generation – Gen Y, otherwise known as the Millennials?

My kids would be Millennials, and since they are still young enough to rely on mom and dad for their gadgets, only really own 3 of the seven, and those 3 just happen to be the most mobile gadgets: cell phone, mp3 player, and Nintendo DS (game console). As they get older, I wonder what their next likely gadget will be?  I for one think a tablet, and eventually a laptop, but will less is more rule with this generation?  Time will tell how condensed this list of “Personal Computing” devices, or windows as I call them will become, or not.

The study says Gen Xers love their gadgets, Baby Boomers choose to get by with just a couple.  So, the question being will Gen Yers (or Millennials)  act more like their parents or their grandparents?