Dive Brief:
- The latest Harris Poll for Pearson surveyed 1,200 college students from across the country, exploring the trends in tablet use among students of different age groups.
- Campus Technology reports more than half of students own tablets but only 8% of 18- and 19-year-olds reported using them for school daily — compared to 66% who use laptops daily.
- Among students 25 and older, 27% use tablets daily and 40% use laptops as frequently, though across all age groups, students expect tablets to replace textbooks and transform learning.
Dive Insight:
Roughly half of college students older than 25 consider themselves early adopters of technology, a rate that greatly exceeds that of the college student population overall. In the wider group, just 36% say they are early adopters. Tablets have only been on the market for about five years, with ownership among college students continuing to rise since then. The longer tablets stay on the market, the further they’ll move from the early adopter population into the mainstream, which gives colleges a chance to stay ahead of the curve.