• Access to technology is hugely important and acts as a strong predictor of TQ score.
• TQ is highest among the 18-24 age group – the average TQ is 123.
• TQ is lowest for the 65+ age group whose average TQ is 75, compared with 11-13 year olds who average a TQ of 92.
• Men have an average TQ of 104.
• Women have an average TQ of 97.
• People living in the South West have the highest average TQ of 104.
• People living in Wales have the lowest average TQ of 93.

The importance of access

• Access to technology is hugely important and acts as a strong predictor of TQ score. Among the 7% of the sample with low access levels (i.e. those with access to between only one and three of the eight technological platforms investigated) TQ scores were low at just 67.
• Among those with medium access, four to six technologies (39% of the sample) the average score was 89.
• But among those with high access (54% of the sample) TQ scores averaged 113.
• Access is particularly important for children. 11-13 year olds with high access to technology score higher than the average UK adult while in the 14-15 age group those with high access to technology achieve TQ score of 117, compared to 109 for the age group as a whole.
• Children from ABC1 households have higher TQ ratings than those from C2DE households. Access to information technology equipment in schools is therefore of vital importance to these children as they have less access to ICT equipment at home.

TQ by age

• TQ is highest among the 18-24 age group – the average TQ is 123.
• TQ is lowest for the 65+ age group who’s average TQ is 75, compared with 11-13 year olds who average a TQ of 92.
• Scores for information technology, communications technology and entertainment technology are between 40% and 80% higher than average among 14-34 year olds.
• In the measurements of attitudes to technology, those aged under 45 scored around 20% higher than average and those over 45 scored around 20% below average.
• Competence with labour-saving technologies (such as the washing machine) reveals that people in the 45-54 age group are the most competent, scoring 17% more than the average adult.
• However, labour-saving devices are a ‘technological mystery’ to children (up to 17) with the 11-13 year old group scoring 176% below average. This means, in practice, that while four out of five 11-13 year olds can use a basic word processing package, only half know how to switch on the washing machine!

TQ by gender

• Men have an average TQ of 104.
• Women have an average TQ of 97.
• TQ scores are higher among adult men than adult women, with men’s average TQ score at 104 and women’s at 97. But women who have both access and a positive attitude towards technology score identically to their male counterparts.
• However, girls aged 11-15 have an average TQ of 101, 3 points ahead of boys of the same age who average 98.
• Unsurprisingly, men perform best in entertainment technology (99% know how to use the TV remote control) and worst in labour-saving technology - only 80% can use all the settings on the washing machine! The women’s results are exactly the opposite with 99% finding it ‘very easy’ to programme a basic clothes wash but only 70% feel that they are able to tune in the channels on a new TV set.

TQ by region

• South West TQ 104
• London TQ 103
• North West TQ 103
• East Midlands TQ 101
• Scotland TQ 101
• Eastern England TQ 100
• Yorkshire and Humberside TQ 100
• South East TQ 98
• West Midlands TQ 96
• North East TQ 96
• Wales TQ 93
• Regional variations in TQ reveal that those in the South West of England have the highest TQ at 104, while those who live in Wales have the lowest TQ of 93.
• Londoner’s score by far the highest for information, communications and entertainment technology – in IT Londoner’s score 28% above the national average. However, they score 26% below the national average for labour-saving devices. It seems that while Londoner’s are highly competent users of the latest hi-tech gadgetry they struggle when it come to using the washing machine! This probably reflects a social trend where outsourcing of domestic work is higher in London than in other regions of the UK.

TQ by social demographic

• Demographics highlight the concept of the ‘digital divide’ in modern Britain.

Those defined as AB averaged a TQ of 112 while C2s and DEs dropped below the national average with scores of 99 and 85 respectively.

Charlotte Cornish, Research Director of the Future Foundation, comments:
“TQ represents an aptitude for technology use and access to that technology, and, it has been demonstrated, access to technology makes a vital difference to an individual’s TQ rating. Therefore, raising the nation’s TQ is primarily a matter of providing greater access to technology, especially to younger and older people in the UK. However, the study also shows that ambition is a crucial factor in its own right – those individuals with a positive attitude to learning technology skills are those that will end up with the highest TQ in the long run”.

Tim Mason, Marketing Director, Tesco said of the research:“What this study demonstrates is the overwhelming need to provide access to technology. The Tesco Computers for Schools scheme, which is now in its 14th year, is as relevant now as it ever was. Since 1992, Tesco has donated £92 million worth of ICT equipment for schools and in 2005 we expect to break the £100 million barrier. Computers for Schools is a great initiative that allows Tesco to give something back to the community”.

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For further information, please contact LAUNCH PR

David Page 020 7153 5603 07767 227003
Sara Tidy 020 7153 5610 07973 560142
Emma Davis 020 7153 5616 07764 197003
Note to editors:

• To test your own TQ rating log onto www.tesco.com/schools and click on the ‘Test your TQ?’ link.
• The Future Foundation drew on a wide range of government and academic sources to inform its approach to researching modern technology use and to guide the construction of the TQ Index.
• New research is derived from interviews carried out by ICM Research and Carrick James Research during February 2005 with 1008 adults aged 16+ and 512 11-15 year olds. The total number of 11+ interviewed in the research was thus 1,520.
• Tesco Computers For Schools has been running for 14 years, since 1992 and has donated over £92 million worth of ICT equipment to schools. 86% of all schools in the UK participate in the scheme. The 2005 scheme runs for 10 weeks from 7th March to 15th May.
• Established in 1996, the Future Foundation operates as both a strategic consultancy and independent commercial think tank. Their work is strategic and future-focused including new product development, future-proofing strategy and market mapping. They also develop thought-leadership programmes. Core competence lies in understanding and forecasting social and consumer trends and analysing the extent and nature of their impact on consumer markets.