Being 'Technology-Infused' Proves Taxing for Affluent

[Commentary] As people of means acquire more technological devices to simplify their lives, their lives have actually become more complicated. It's a finding arrived at in January of this year -- the dawn of a new decade (of sorts) -- when Ipsos Mendelsohn, which surveys monthly households earning more than $100,000, decided to divine how the world, and the lives of this "Affluent" demographic, had changed in the previous 10 years.

On the world stage, the prior decade was a decade of tremendous change, most of it undeniably bad -- 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, economic boom years that ended in the Great Recession, the rise of China, massive deficits, political polarization and more. When we asked Affluents in January 2011 how their lives had changed in the previous decade, the top answer -- selected by 79% -- was that they'd become "technology-infused." And it is easy to see why.

Consider that:

• Fully 98% of Affluents are online, averaging over 25 hours of Internet use a week.
• Affluents own an average of 3.5 TVs, and three-fourths have at least one high-definition TV.
• Two-thirds have a digital video recorder, of which 58% report always or frequently fast-forwarding through commercials.