No matter how many internet stats you view, there’s one obvious conclusion: the digital age is upon us. The number of users is constantly growing, and so is how much time people spend online consuming information or sharing it through social media.
However, you may not have considered how things are changing at home. It would help if you had a good internet connection at the house, but several other trends are going on that you should be aware of to keep your home up-to-date and effective.
Overall, we could pull tons of stats, but we chose the following three to highlight some of the things you need to keep in mind to ensure your home remains modern in 2020 and well into the future.
Increased Online Time Means You Need More From Your Network
The average person now spends around six and a half hours online daily. Considering that most of us spend about 8 hours of sleep, we are online for about 40 percent of our waking hours on the internet in some capacity.
What does this mean for your home? Well, it means that your network will be under more and more stress moving forward. And if you have multiple people in the house trying to connect, you will likely soon consume your bandwidth and need to upgrade.
This isn’t a guarantee, but you should keep it in mind, especially since people are using the internet mainly to stream videos and video chat, both of which strain your network infrastructure and can affect performance more so than traditional browsing.
As a result, keep an eye on your network’s performance moving forward. Run frequent speed tests using tools such as Speed Test by Ookla. If you notice things are slowing down considerably, especially when everyone is home and online simultaneously, then it’s likely your network is no longer up to the task and needs to be replaced.
This may not be an issue now, but as the time we spend online increases, and our activities become more intensive, your network will likely fall behind, requiring upgrading.
There Are 53 Million Freelancers. You Could Be One Too!
Last year, in 2019, 53 million people were working as freelancers, and experts predict that by 2030, in just ten short years, around half of the US economy could be made up of freelancers, the vast majority of whom will be working online either for themselves or as contractors for larger companies.
At the moment, perhaps you don’t see yourself working from home, but these numbers suggest that this might quite likely become a reality for you. And as the coronavirus pandemic reshapes our lives inside and out, this trend of working from home may become even more the norm.
All of this means it’s becoming increasingly necessary for a modern home in 2020 to have office space. Maybe now you work from home infrequently enough to get away with just using your kitchen table, but if you become a full-time remote worker, you’ll probably need some dedicated space to set up shop.
This might require cleaning and remodeling a current room, or it might even mean putting on an addition to your home. No matter what, this can cost a lot of money and time, so it’s wise to start planning and taking steps toward this transition now.
Depending on your professional field, this result may be more or less inevitable, but knowing it’s a trend is vital to help keep your home modern in 2020.
Smart Home Tech is Growing Rapidly
Another significant trend in the digital world that relates to your home is the growth in smart-home technology. Conceptually, this stuff has been around since the 1970s, but the tech is now becoming useful and inexpensive enough to become mainstream.
Currently, however, just 43 percent of people use smart home technology. But this number is set to change as one-third of people have indicated they plan to start using it in the next three years, according to a study from Clutch.
As a result, it might be wise to start familiarizing yourself with different smart home techs to see if it’s something for you. But perhaps even more importantly, this is something you will want to keep in mind as you make renovations and additions to your home, especially if you have your eyes on selling the place somewhere down the line.
This is because smart home tech is rapidly becoming the norm, which means buyers will expect it. So, if you are upgrading your appliances, it might make sense to go for the “smart” option, as this will be a nice bonus now and a requirement in the future. If you’re doing bigger things to your home, consult with your contractor to see if there’s anything you can do to make the home smarter, such as adding more plugs, modem jacks, access to the sun, etc., as this will not only make it easier for you to adapt, but it will make your property more attractive in the real estate market.
An Ever-Changing Landscape
These stats represent just the tip of the iceberg regarding how the internet changes our lives and homes. But they should demonstrate quite clearly that things are changing quickly and are set to continue to do so well into the future. Therefore, it’s important to stay up on all these latest changes and be ready to adapt so that you can remain at the front of the crowd and take full advantage of everything this digital world offers.
