Australians plan to take more than four devices away on holiday to ring in the New Year

Aussies create a digital home away from home

Optus research reveals Australians plan to take more than four devices away on holiday to ring in the New Year

It seems the nation’s gadget obsession continues, especially as we head into the new year. Optus research reveals that while 50 per cent of Aussies claim they would love to have a holiday free from all digital devices, almost a third are stressed by the thought of leaving home without their gadgets.

As a result, the average Australian family is planning to take more than four devices like mobiles, cameras, laptops and music players away on holiday. Despite dreaming of a digital-free holiday, more than half of us (58 per cent) don’t feel comfortable leaving for holidays without our devices, while 46 per cent think it would be quite boring to go away without them.

Almost one in three Aussies (32 per cent) consider gadgets as welcome distractions from their family, as well as people with kids. Meanwhile, men are especially keen to use technology to escape the family.

Clare Gill, Head of Government and Corporate Affairs, Optus said, “As we head on holidays, Aussies want to remain connected and entertained via our gadgets. The portability of mobile phones and tablets mean that even when we’re sitting by the pool or visiting relatives, we can still check-in or post our latest photos.”

Devices such as smartphones are set to play a huge role this season, with 22 per cent of Aussies planning to jump onto social media sites to wish friends and family a happy New Year. Optus forecasts that on New Year’s Eve, the peak load of mobile data will be 54 per cent higher compared to the same period last year .

However, texts are still popular with 34 per cent of Australians planning to SMS their friends and 29 per cent likely to SMS their work colleagues on New Year’s Eve.

Optus data supports this, with millions of its customers this New Year’s Eve predicted to :

• Send more than 72 million SMS messages – an increase of over 4 million from last year
• Make more than 44 million mobile calls
• Make more than 29 million local and national calls
• Spend more than 3 million minutes calling overseas friends and family

On Christmas Day this year , customers on the Optus network:

• Sent over 64 million SMS messages
• Made over 32 million mobile calls
• Made almost 25 million local and national calls
• Spent over 4.5 million minutes calling overseas friends and family

“Our customers can be confident that we have been working hard throughout the year to ensure our network is capable of providing optimum coverage, with upgrades to many popular holiday destinations around Australia in preparation for the holiday season,” Ms Gill continued.