Parents Techier Than Millennial Kids Think

Parents Techier Than Millennial Kids Think

Best Buy survey reveals large disconnect between 18–34-year-olds and their parents.

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Minneapolis, MN—The new Parent-Millennial Child Tech survey from Best Buy finds that less than one-third of millennials “think their parents are very comfortable buying the right personal tech for themselves.” Parents, however, strongly disagree, with 66% saying they do just fine.

The just-released survey reveals similar misconceptions about tech support among parents and their millennial kids: 47% of millennials responded their parents turn to them for tech help at least once a week. But parents say they’re not that dependent: only 17% said they seek help from their kids that often. More than half the parent respondents did admit, however, they ask their children for tech support at least once a month.

“We’re often told that young people are more interested in and know more about technology than older adultsBest-Buy-Retail-Logo.jpg, but that isn’t necessarily true,” said Derek Meister, a Cleveland-based agent with Best Buy’s Geek Squad. “This survey reinforces what we see every day—parents are often tech savvy and seek advice in very different ways.”

Other Key Parent-Millennial Child Tech Survey Findings

∞ Millennials give parents little credit for making the most of their tech devices. While 60% of parents claim they know how to get the most from their technology, only 33% of adult children give their parents credit for really understanding their gear.

∞  Dad relies on reviews, mom on her son. Gender also plays a role in sourcing tech advice. Among parents who considered their children to be the most trustworthy source of advice, 64% are moms and just 36% are dads. Dad, in fact, prefers expert reviews (60%) to advice from his millennial offspring, regardless of gender. Moms will turn to their sons for tech help more often than their daughters; 39% of sons are asked for help compared with 28% of daughters.

∞  Smart home devices are the products parents are most interested in but confess they’re not confident enough to buy. Parents also have interest but lack confidence in selecting streaming devices (18%), smartwatches (13%) and home theater systems (13%).

∞  One source of agreement from the survey? Some 62% of parents say their adult children are happy to help and 58% of adult children confirmed that.

Advice for Millennial Kids

Geek Squad agent Derek Meister serves clients of all generations. In fact, he has been his parents’ tech guru for decades. He offers this advice for millennials who are called upon by mom or dad for tech support.    geek-squad-logo

“Understand the issue is comfort, not ability. Don’t underestimate your parents’ interest or ability. Find out specifically what about their tech makes them uncomfortable and help them overcome that. For example, touch screens come naturally to a teenager but not necessarily to someone older. The nerves in their fingers are less sensitive with age, and older people may touch more heavily. Help them compensate for that.

“Simplify their tech. I love tech, but I know not everybody else does,” Meister added. “If your mom is frustrated by her laptop, smartphone or tablet, find ways to simplify things. Uninstalling apps mom doesn’t use is one way to reduce the likelihood that she gets lost in the options. You might want to go as far as replacing her tech with something simpler.”

The Best Buy Parent-Millennial Child Tech survey was conducted from August 27 through September 6, 2016, among 2,000 U.S. consumers. About half of the respondents were parents of adult children and took a “parent” survey. The other half were children aged 18–34 with living adult parents. They took the “adult child” survey. bestbuy.com

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