The Whos and Whys of Wearable Tech
Price, utility and privacy remain open questions
Hardly anyone has a wearable tech device just yet, according to research from Harris Interactive—just 3% of US internet users—and signs don’t point to that changing without some major changes.
While 22% of men and 13% of women said they would consider purchasing such a device if the prices dropped to something they considered reasonable, and younger respondents were also receptive to the suggestion, the plurality of respondents said they simply didn’t know what might make them think about springing for Google Glass or another similar device. And 19% said they would never consider it.
It doesn’t help matters that the perceived benefits of wearable tech are still a bit blurry—especially for those outside the traditional early adopter zone. While 59% of male respondents said they were at least some benefits to the devices, a majority of women said there would be no benefits at all. Responses were similar when broken down by age: Those under 49 were more likely than not to see some sort of benefit—even if vague—while those ages 49 and up tended to think there was no real usefulness. Overall, the split was almost even.
And while the leading negative concern about wearable tech devices was the price, privacy was also a concern. The Harris survey found 28% of internet users thought wearable tech would make it too easy for others to access their personal information—a barrier that extended across age and gender lines.