Americans are Passionate About Their Digital Content; 81% are Downloading and Storing More Than Ever

Americans are Passionate About Their Digital Content; 81% are Downloading and Storing More Than Ever

From music, photos and movies to games and ring tones, Americans are creating, downloading, sharing and storing more and more digital content every day. According to a new Harris Interactive study [1]conducted for Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX), 81 percent of computer users said they are more likely to download and store digital content today than they were just a year ago.

Before, digital content meant written documents, e-mail or business files. Today, however, digital content is the “stuff” your life is made of — like family photos and home videos, things you create on the computer — or personalized entertainment collections that can include thousands of songs, video games, and even full-length TV shows and movies. Not surprisingly, as a result many consumers value their content even more than their digital devices themselves. The Harris study found that a majority of American adults (57 percent) agree the content of the files they have stored on their computer is worth more to them than the actual dollar amount of their computer.

The personalization of content has made consumers much more comfortable with digital media and technologies, and they are downloading and storing digital stuff with a vengeance. This in turn has been driving an almost insatiable demand for more and more gigabytes to safely store and manage all this content. Cost-effective and simple ways to collect, share and access digital files are at the top of the wish list, and hard drives are popping up in all sorts of consumer devices ranging from gaming consoles and MP3 players to cell phones, DVRs, network and external storage devices, and, of course, computers in order to satisfy consumers’ demand.

“Americans are finding that it’s fast, easy and convenient to download and store entertainment like movies and music or to create, store and share memories and experiences – like family photos,” said Bill Watkins, Seagate chief executive officer. “Seagate plays a key role in the digital download revolution by making it safe, simple and affordable to save, share and manage all kinds of digital content from a wide variety of devices.”

Read the complete Press Release