Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Emergency Safety Tech Moves Beyond The Elderly

In a surprising statistic from new Parks Associates research on connected health, 40% of 18- to 24-year-olds report using a device or app that automatically calls for help in case of an emergency -- compared to just 13% of those aged 65 and older.

Opening a recent Parks webinar, director of research Kristen Hanich said the key drivers for the technology in this Gen Z  demographic, are, in order: general peace of mind; safety when exercising outdoors, such as running, hiking or cycling; monitoring an elderly loved one;monitoring a child's location and safety; monitoring a wearer with a chronic health condition; and such dangerous situations as walking alone or being a lone worker or on a night shift.

Back in 2018, Parks Vice President of Research Jennifer Kent told Marketing Daily that the “I’ve fallen” mantra had actually created a hard-to-shake stigma, resulting in strong resistance among older people.

Now, so to speak, a “child” -- or many of them -- shall lead them.

“Adoption by younger folks will remove some of the stigma that seniors face,” said Hanich. “Will anyone be embarrassed at using a fall detection solution that their very active grandchild personally uses and recommends?”

From the article, "Emergency Safety Tech Moves Beyond The Elderly" by Les Luchter

Previously In The News

Choose-Your-Own-Adventures Just Landed on Netflix. Yes, Netflix

Books and videogames have done this for years, but achieving good results with video has proved difficult. Beyond making the technology work, open-ended storytelling doesn't make much sense from a bus...

Consumers' Dependence on Broadband Gives Comcast a Streaming Opportunity

However, that's not the most noteworthy detail of the Parks Associates report for Charter and Comcast shareholders. Curiously, only about one-fifth of those internet users questioned subscribe to a st...

Google's Next Chromecast Could Look More Like a Roku Box

Things have changed. Parks Associates analysis in 2014 found that Chromecast had replaced Apple TV in second place behind Roku. Its market share was 20%. In 2019, though, Parks Associates found that o...

Is Roku a Better Streaming Play Than Netflix?

Roku is still the streaming-device leader, controlling an estimated 39% share of the market, according to Parks Associates. Amazon.com's Fire TV is the current runner-up, with about 30%. Roku augment...