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How France wakes up: our digital habits up close
When’s the last time you’ve considered the role technology plays in your life? Today, most young French people begin their mornings not with alarm clocks, but with smartphones that put the world at their fingertips. How has this shaped our relationship with technology and our personal wellbeing? Check out NordVPN’s research to find out.
Researching French digital morning habits
The world thinks French mornings revolve around breakfasts with baguettes, croissants and coffee. However, that picture is far from complete. By asking ourselves how technology impacts us from the very moment we wake up, we can start to fully understand its importance in our lives.
That goes beyond painting a picture of the average French person’s morning. We also found out what we use our technology for and how we value it. Our report reveals:
When do French people start using their devices?
What are French people doing in the morning?
How do they feel about their digital habits and how would they change them?
Our findings
Booting up in bed
Many French people start using tech before even getting out of bed. A whopping 77.2% of Gen Z uses their phones before getting up, closely followed by Gen Y at 67.8%. Gen X and baby boomers, however, preferred getting up first with 44.4% and 21.8% respectively.
Users who engage with tech while still in bed tend to be more active users throughout the day: they do more activities, use more apps, and the phone follows them through more of their morning routines.
The reluctance to get out of bed is 100% understandable, but what are French people actually doing on their smartphones while in bed? After the first and most obvious answer (turning off their alarm clocks), most check their social media (44.1%), read the latest news (34.2%), and message their friends (34.2%). Ping – good morning!
Busy mornings
Whether they started in bed or after getting up, almost everyone uses technology to begin their day. However, there were differences in how French people use technology in the morning.
Smartphones are clearly king (82%) when it comes to devices French people use in the morning. They are followed by TV (35%), computers (33%), and tablets (20%). But what do people use them for?
Now that everybody’s up, social media remains one of the most popular activities across all age groups, trending downwards from the youngest (Gen Z at 56.3%) to the oldest (baby boomers at 38.9%). However, other activities enjoyed mixed popularity. Following the news is a big hit among baby boomers (47.1%) but not among Gen Z (28.1%). Messaging was also popular, with 42.1% of all respondents taking part in this activity, but one of the most interesting results was the 4th most popular activity. 24.4% of respondents said they began work-related tasks, like checking their emails or Slack, while still at home in the morning.
By far the most popular app to perform these tasks was Facebook (56.5%), with Messenger (36.4%), Instagram (33.1%) and WhatsApp (32.7%) exemplifying Meta’s (formerly Facebook) firm grasp on our morning habits and data. This makes sense, given that Messenger is the #1 Messaging app in France. YouTube (32.1%) was the next most popular app, representing how many younger French people enjoy watching media in the morning.
One curious aspect, however, was the Tinder dating app – men were 4 times likelier than women to use it!
When we combine the figures for activities done in and out of bed in the morning, the numbers change but the picture remains the same for all respondents taken together. Social media (56.1%), calling and messaging (48.6%), reading the news (47.5%), and checking on work-related messages (30.3%) were the most popular morning activities.
Take a look at how the stats really break down:
Let’s not pretend that French people are stuck in their devices all morning, however. They’re busy starting their day as well! French people continue using technology while eating breakfast (53.5%), using the toilet (47.8%), lying in bed (33.6%), commuting (33.1%), and making coffee or tea (30.8%). Indeed, who hasn’t scrolled social media while in bed or in the bathroom?
Our mornings don’t end the moment we leave home. For many users, the digital start to their day continues elsewhere. If you’ve ever seen a French person walking down the street in the morning using their smartphone, they are one of 32.1% of people who do so. Other popular spots include breakfast establishments (29.9%) or public transportation (29.7%). Cars (26.1%) came up often as well, but we hope that’s only for hands-free calls!
Are we starting our mornings off right?
We also asked French people about their emotional wellbeing and how they feel about their morning tech habits. It’s important to discuss whether we’re too attached to our smartphones and whether or not they really make us happier.
When we asked about their habits in more detail, however, our respondents painted a more complicated picture of how smartphones impact their wellbeing. Despite being the most active users, 37.5% of Gen Z thought their smartphone use was a waste of time and over 1/3rd felt that their smartphone addiction was out of control. By contrast, the baby boomer generation felt highly confident about their smartphone habits across the board.
Here’s a full breakdown of how our French respondents feel about their smartphone usage:
Methodology
Understanding the morning activities of France as a whole required us to get a broad sample of respondents who represented the entire diverse country. We conducted this survey via CINT on January 13-17, 2022. 1,002 French people no younger than 18 were surveyed in total, and the participants formed representative samples for gender, age, and place of residence.
Questions about our research or results?
Contact our team here: press@nordsec.com.
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