Teletext generation dreams of Vorderman robots
Published: 20 Jul 1999 14:51 BST
British men are techies looking for a Carol Vorderman-style electronic assistant while women want self-cleaning kitchens and calorie-free food, according to a study of British attitudes and wishes towards technology -- but nothing has yet displaced Teletext as the key technology in the home.
The MORI report entitled British and Technology was commissioned by Motorola and claims to represent what the UK wants from technology by 2009. However, the report revealed that Teletext is still the most commonly used technology in the home despite home Internet use rocketing by 44 percent in the past year.
The list of technology wishes for 2009 included instant travel, with 42 percent of people wanting teleporting, if there was no restriction on technology development. However, personal assistants or robots were one of the most popular concepts for both men and women.
Top of the men's wish list for a robot is one that looks and thinks like TV presenter Carol Vorderman, followed by colleague Philippa Forrester and in a distant third place, actress Pamela Anderson. The top choices for women were actors Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery, and then Carol Vordeman again.
By claiming that men are more savvy when it comes to using mobile phones and the Internet, the report is also bound to re-open the battle of the sexes.
Women, the report claims are more practical in their thinking when it comes to using technology, with 68 percent of women wanting a self-cleaning kitchen and 39 percent wanted a computerised robot to cook and clean. Around 52 percent wanted food designed to meet their personal nutritional needs.
Men want to play virtual reality sports and have wall-sized TVs (32 percent). Three out of four men want technology to provide a shorter working day, faster engines in cars and better in-car entertainment systems.
Back in the present, the research also claims that a third of UK men are now buying goods online compared to just eight percent of women. About 12 percent of male Internet users are also using online banking and 32 percent have made international phone calls over the Internet. Almost 50 percent of female Internet users were not even aware that this service existed.
The only thing that both sexes really agreed on was a desire for world peace when given just one wish for the future, although maintenance free cars and two hour gym workouts that take just 20 minutes came close.
MORI started its research in 1995 and conducted a series of six focus groups across the country and then conducted a further 1,037 interviews for its sample.
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