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Brits baffled by technology

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It seems us Brits are baffled by modern technology that was sent to help us. According to a poll of 2000 people (by the folks over at Reevoo), mobile phones, SatNavs and even TV remotes send us into panic and rage when we can’t figure out how to use them. In fact, a whopping 32% of people admitted to throwing a complicated gadget across the room when they couldn’t work out what to do with it.

Digital cameras were voted the most complicated with SatNavs and mobile phones close behind. Interestingly though, people are obviously happy to live in confusion with their SatNavs, as only 6% actually read the manuals!

More alarming is that the same numbers of us are as baffled by our laptops as our ovens (the nation’s health crisis suddenly makes sense now…). And people are more inclined to read their TV manual over their oven’s. Hmmmm.

And even when a device goes wrong, more than a quarter will try to fix it themselves, or even buy a new one, instead of turning to the instructions.

Here’s the full list of things we find complicated:

1.    Digital Camera - 26%
2.    GPS navigation    - 21%
3.    Mobile phone - 19%
4.    Washing machine - 18%
5.    Camcorder - 17%
6.    DVD player - 15%
7.    Games console - 13%
8.    TV remote control - 13%
9.    MP3 player - 13%
10.    Microwave - 12%
11.    Computer - 12%
12.    Digital photo frame - 12%
13.    Scanner - 11%
14.    Laptop - 10%
15.    Television - 10%
16.    Modem - 10%
17.    Oven - 9%
18.    Printer - 9%
19.    Answer machine - 9%
20.    Freeview box - 8%
21.    Broadband - 8%
22.    Sky - 8%
23.    Dishwasher - 7%
24.    Digital TV - 7%
25.    Hi Fi system - 7%
26.    Tumble dryer - 6%
27.    Iron - 6%
28.    Telephone - 6%
29.    Clock Radio - 5%
30.    Smoke alarm - 5%
31.    Electric timer - 5%
32.    Smoothie maker - 5%
33.    Alarm clock - 4%
34.    Blender - 4%

…and how many people bother to read the manuals for these items:

1.    I don’t read manuals - 46%
2.    Mobile phone - 19%
3.    Washing machine - 17%
4.    Television - 16%
5.    Digital Camera - 14%
6.    Microwave - 11%
7.    Oven - 10%
8.    DVD player - 10%
9.    MP3 player - 9%
10.    Laptop - 9%
11.    Computer - 8%
12.    Printer - 8%
13.    TV remote control - 8%
14.    Broadband - 8%
15.    Telephone - 7%
16.    Tumble dryer - 6%
17.    Iron - 6%
18.    GPS navigation - 6%
19.    Camcorder - 6%
20.    Dishwasher - 6%
21.    Hi Fi system - 6%
22.    Scanner - 5%
23.    Freeview box - 5%
24.    Answer machine - 5%
25.    Alarm clock - 5%
26.    Modem - 5%
27.    Smoke alarm - 5%
28.    Clock Radio - 5%
29.    Games console - 5%
30.    Sky - 4%
31.    Digital TV - 4%
32.    Digital photo frame - 3%
33.    Electric timer - 2%

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Blog posted on Thursday, August 7th, 2008 at 10:20 am under Computers, Dishwashers, Fax machines, Food processors, Fridges, Gaming, HiFi systems, Laptops, MP3 Players, Microwaves, Mobile Phones, News, Ovens, Printers, Products, Reevoo news, Satellite navigation, Televisions, Tumble dryers, Vacuum cleaners, Washing machines, gadgets, ipod. Leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.


11 Responses to “Brits baffled by technology”

AmusedbyHumans Says:
August 7th, 2008 at 9:50 pm

Toothbrush?

Gert van Dongen Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 8:42 am

After several years, you come finally with the right conclusion. We have a photo retail in Holland and we say that already for minimal six years. Like the Britons the Dutch people standardly don’t read a manual. To understand the camera we are giving workshops how to use your camera. and for those who buy a camera in our outlet, we give them automatically a guiding tour through the camera and it’s functions in a period of an hour and a half. The people who are getting this guidig from us, do not fully understant the complete usage of the camera, but the know when they are doing something else, that there was something that has been told about it. So the people think truly before they something do.

Sam Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 9:37 am

Actually the only manual I would read is a digital camera one… and also the oven when i find it isn’t working!

Enema Bandit Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am

Well, the fact is that brits have always been quite slow, and not very mentally talented.
The dutchies, well, they dont really fancy reading manuals after a few splifs, you know what i mean?

Rubadub Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 11:52 am

This shouldn´t come as a surprise. Brits in general are not a very intelligent bunch of people and the majority of them have problems reading and understanding their own language. The answer is to have more immigrants in the UK, maybe we can breed intelligence into the Brits. If this doesn´t work, well, we´ll have less Brits and the world will be a better place for it.

Geoff Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Ah, yes, the unmistakable odour of Internet trolls at work. Remember now: please don’t feed the trolls.

Turre Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 8:15 pm

Maybe the reason for bafflement lies in the fact that almost half don’t read manuals.

RTFM!

Dan Says:
August 8th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

Notice no corkscrew or a bottle cap opener on that list.

Tim Moore Says:
August 11th, 2008 at 2:11 pm

The problems lie with the designers and the buyers. The designers are often techno=geeks, engineers who want to include every feature and geegaw they can. Buyers are as guilty in looking for these at the expense of usability. To design better products requires “usability testing” of prototypes and iterative designs to get rid of problems. If the designer wants us to us manuals package them in the product! (software instructions)

Ast Says:
August 11th, 2008 at 4:51 pm

Believe me, it’s not just the Brits, it’s world wide. Most people dont want to admit they’re dumb. It has been proved the only nation willing to read the manual from cover to cover before even powering up the gadget is the Japanese. The Americans are worse as they tend to buy stuff, throw the manual away with the box and then complain they need training as they have clue one where to start. And yep, I’ve been in technology retail for 21 years.
P.s. ‘Enema Bandit’ just whom do you think some of the greatest engineers in the world are… Oh, that will be the English then.

Mobiles NZ Says:
January 1st, 2009 at 6:39 am

I think it is complex to buy new technology, since it’s created abroad and sold here. For example, a iPhone 3G might not have much use compared to a normal iPhone if the 3G network in the UK isn’t set up properly etc.,

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