In Connectivity Which Are You? Always On to Detached…

OfCom has some research out that looks at the types of communicator you might be:

‘Always on’ (22% of adults) The youngest group, with half (50%) aged under 35, they communicate a lot, especially with their friends and family.

• They are almost twice as likely to use services such as Twitter (28%) than the national average (16%).
• More likely to own a mobile phone and have access to a computer than average – always on communicators use new technology to keep in touch.
• They use their mobile phones especially for texting (90%) and calls (88%) and are more comfortable about sharing information online.

‘Enlightened’ (19% of adults) A younger group, with 44% aged under 35, enlightened communicators like to keep up to date with the latest technology.

• They are more likely to say they are knowledgeable about the internet and are careful about sharing personal information online.
• Enlightened communicators use text and email to keep in touch with friends and family, and around a third say their use of email has increased in the past two years.

‘Middle-of-the-road’ (22% of adults) Generally aged 35-54, their levels of communication are much more in line with the general population.

• Middle-of-the-road communicators tend to use a range of methods to keep in touch, with face to face (78%) their favourite.
• They are most likely to be hesitant about sharing personal opinions on social media and will tend to let others try out new services first before they give them a go themselves (11% say they are the first to try new products and services compared to 21% overall).

‘Conventional’ (21% of adults) The oldest group, with almost half (47%) aged over 65, conventional communicators tend to be retired and live on their own.

• Conventional communicators are more likely to have a landline phone (81%), rather than a computer (39%) or mobile phone (73%).
• Their top preferred methods of keeping in touch with friends and family are meeting face to face (75% compared to 67% nationally) or calling them on their home phone (16% compared to 10% nationally).
• On special occasions such as birthdays, they are more likely to send their friends or family a card or present in the post (69%) than the overall population (58%).

‘Detached’ (16% of adults) More likely to be men across a wide range of ages, communication isn’t a priority for them.

• They are least likely to choose to meet someone face to face, with only 42% saying it is their top preferred method of communicating with friends and family compared to 67% nationally.
• They are more likely to use newer quick form text methods of communication, such as Twitter than the overall population (19% v 16%).

So of course I’m thinking, what applies to me? Always On is more me but I am more guarded about sharing online information.  Sure work stuff here about games but I tend to keep my private life, well private.  Still interesting to know…

(Hat-tip to Sabien for the link!)