The survey reveals the daily life of the average UK teen includes five devices and six hours engaged in digital activity, while they expect 3D printing (80%), self-health monitoring (69%), delivery drones (42%), and holographic tech (43%) to be in everyday use by 2024.
A more digital world does not mean more risk for Realtimers; 74% say adults underestimate their online resilience, and as future employees, consumers and voters they demonstrate a demand for change.
As students they want more technology in lessons (75%) and improvements to the IT curriculum (34%), as consumers they distrust social media platforms (62%) and want organisations to work hard for their personal data (72%), and as employees they say businesses will have to update IT and flexible working practices (79%).
Chris Gabriel, co-author of the report at Logicalis UK, comments, “The statistics show Realtimers understand the value of their digital skills and plan to use them. Two thirds say they’ll build the technology they want for work themselves. Forget how ‘Millennials’ introduced BYOD into the workplace, can enterprises harness a workforce that will create and dictate their own working environments?
“The report also questions whether service organisations can match this generation’s consumer mind-set on security, data protection and privacy. It seems both the public and private sector will need to step-up transparency, personalisation and big data strategies, and make service reward outweigh security risk if they’re to convince these consumers to part with their personal information.”
“Realtimers aspire to a digital, data-centric, connected future, but they hold the cards to the data ownership and sharing that drives this,” Gabriel adds. “Whilst this generation can bring significant value to the economy, UK Government and business must nurture these digital skills and evolve services alongside them. As we see digital footprints grow smarter, and entering the IoT, organisations must act now to keep pace.”