Monday, 17 Nov, 2008 Technology

According to a new study, sponsored by Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, when dealing with breakdown of a device the levels of optimism and irritation depend on the age and gender of a person.

A representative of the company that sponsored the survey of 2,054 American adults said that young people show more optimism than older adults when facing technology breakdown.

In their report the authors of the study wrote that respondents aged between 18 and 29 were less likely to be able to repair broken gadgets on their own, but they showed more confidence regarding the fact that they were on the right track to fixing devices. In addition, this category of people felt less discouraged or puzzled about repairing gadgets. Additional information showed that 35% out of 52% of tech users were able to fix devices on their own.

In regard to gender-based distinctions, the report states that 76 percent of men showed more confidence about fixing the problem compared to 68 percent of women. However, these men were more likely to report being puzzled or irritated while trying to fix devices. The report showed that 33 male respondents were able to fix devices on their own compared to 22 percent of women. It was also reported that 18 percent of women sought help from friends or family compared to 12 percent of men.

From 2,054 respondents 48 percent confessed they required help installing a new device and learning how to utilize it correctly. As for the problems related to Internet connection, desktop, mobile phone, PDA and the like 15% said they didn't fix the problem at all, 38% reported getting help from customer service, 28% said they were able to fix the gadgets by themselves, 15% got help from family or friends and 2% found the way to repair the device online.