Technology in the family home has an important influence on how members of the household spend their time and communicate with each other. Parents look to give their child access to devices that support their social and educational needs, and their children in turn want to be at the forefront of technology trends. Together, this means families are generally more engaged in new technologies.

Meanwhile, having a household full of consumers with diverse interests means technology solutions to meet person’s needs are necessary. Multiple home devices, tailored for safeguarding and content requirements where necessary, allow people in the home to access the range of media services offered by shared subscriptions.

For the purposes of this Report, Mintel defines families as a household consisting of at least one parent and one child under the age of 18. Empty nesters, parents of children aged over 18, children aged 16-18 living with parents, or any other family circumstances were not examined.

The sample for this report was therefore 1,202 people aged 16+ who are parents to a child aged under 18.

This Report covers ownership of consumer technology products (eg televisions, laptops, and smartphones), as well as the use of digital services and technology habits within a family.

Other terms used in this Report:

“Subscription service” refers to a purchased service, typically paid monthly. This includes payments to an online media streaming service, online shopping delivery service, or a mobile network provider. This also covers Pay-TV, typically part of a household’s bundled communication service (ie internet, TV, and landline).

“Digital games” refers to video games played on consoles, PCs, or mobile devices.