WILL 5G REDUCE SELFIE STRESS?

Hype on the possibilities of these next fifth generation networks (5G) is reaching fever pitch with mobile operators predicted to invest US$0.5 trillion between 2018 – 2020 worldwide in mobile technology capex[i]. According to Futurologist Rocky Scopelliti who has just released a new book Youthquake 4.0 – A Whole Generation and The New Industrial Revolution, said “5G will be the key to unlock the 4th Industrial Revolution which is why China analysts expect China’s 5G capex will reach US$223 billion between 2019 and 2025[ii]”. 

According to a study in the book of 14,000 Millennial smartphone users across 14 countries, 50 per cent of Millennials stream on-demand video, 28 per cent of which is for one to three hours per day, six times more than those aged 45 or over[iii].

“This expectation inflation has led Millennials to become less tolerant of network performance than older groups, with less than half of Millennial smartphone users satisfied with their mobile broadband quality. Not only do they hold very high expectations of speed, coverage and reliability from 5G, but also content responsiveness”, said Scopelliti.

Published globally by Marshall Cavendish, the world-first book deconstructs contemporary global issues, super-charged by the impact of Millennials influence and the 4^th Industrial Revolution.

Scopelliti explains that speed-to-content is the new king. Early in our digital revolution, content became king, but as we move into the fourth industrial revolution, it’s the speed to that content that has become the new king. Latency has become an important indicator of expectation for Millennials experiencing mobile on-demand video services and soon, virtual augmented reality services.

A neuroscience study[iv] to understand the impact of varying network performance on smartphone users found a direct correlation between consumers’ subconscious (emotional responses) and physical reactions to time-to-content on mobile apps. The study has now identified that delays in uploading selfies leads to stress and revealed some interesting insights such as:

·      Heart rate rises by 44 per cent for Millennials who experience delays of just two seconds while uploading their selfie, referred to as ‘selfie stress’.

·      With the Auto Play feature, any video loading delays on Facebook were found to be more stressful than delays on YouTube.

·      Millennial and streaming natives were found to be less tolerant to delays in loading online videos with 35 per cent more stressed with mobile delays than those older than 35 years.

·      Millennials were most stressed at six seconds of video delays and after eight seconds, they’d completely lost interest in watching the video.