IAC/InterActiveCorp : Nearly 1 in 10 Americans Would Rather Sleep in the Slammer than Deal with a Chronically Slow Computer

NEW YORK, June 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a recent study commissioned by Slimware Utilities and conducted online by Harris Poll, we're a procrastination nation with some serious digital baggage. Slimware Utilities Holdings, Inc., a leader in PC optimization solutions, today announced findings from its survey which reveal a few peculiar consumer sentiments and procrastination tendencies when it comes to upkeep of their digital devices (computers, smartphones and tablets). Among the findings:

- Nearly 1 in 10 Americans would rather spend the night in jail than combat a chronically slow computer.
- More than half of Americans who own a computer (58 percent) require at least one prompt before they will run an update and 10 percent update their computers after a whopping 10 prompts or more.
- Other unpleasant activities consumers would rather endure than deal with a slow computer include:
1. Cleaning out a dirty cat litter box (31 percent)
2. Run a marathon (15 percent)
3. Take/retake the SATs (12 percent)

'While consumers understand the need for updating devices, our survey found that 1 out of every 10 computer owners hit 'ignore' or 'remind me later' at least 10 times before allowing their computer to update,' said Bob Bryant, CTO of Slimware Utilities. 'There is a digital disconnect with consumers who expect their device to be running at top speed at all times, but don't take the time to do what's necessary for upkeep.'

The 'Consumer Digital Device Upkeep, Sentiments and Habits Survey' was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Slimware Utilities from April 7-11, 2016 among 2,157 U.S. adults age 18 and older. Further results include:

Do your digital chores

Like a nagging mother, most digital devices will prompt users to do their chores - that is, the digital ones. But often times it's not enough.

- 87 percent of Americans who own a smartphone wait to be prompted to update their software.
- Specifically, nearly nine in 10 computer owners (89 percent) wait to be prompted to update their computer.
- Some people never update their software on their respective devices: computer owners (5 percent), smartphone owners (7 percent), tablet owners (8 percent).

Procrastination nation

While consumers procrastinate to update their software, it's no surprise many of them wait to do something about it before it's too late. Nearly 1 in 10 of computer owners who hesitate to upgrade their software say they wait until their device is no longer functioning properly. Why?

- 47 percent say it takes too long
- 27 percent are afraid it will make their mobile/computing experience worse
- 22 percent are afraid they will lose their files

Stop blowing in your Nintendo cartridge

So what do people do when their computer runs slow? They don't resort to the 80s tactic of blowing in their Nintendo cartridge. But, unfortunately, some computer owners still do absolutely nothing (4 percent) and more than half (58 percent) just keep restarting. Computer owners are also doing the following:

- Checking for viruses (53 percent)
- Deleting files (43 percent)
- Using a computer cleaning program (36 percent)
- Updating software or operating system (32 percent)
- Calling/asking a professional for help (9 percent)
- Absolutely nothing (4 percent)

Digital delusions

Surprisingly, 10 percent of Americans say they never plan to replace their computer, making these software updates all the more essential.

- Less than one in five computer owners (19 percent) say they plan to replace their computer in five years or more.
- The most popular time frame American computer owners plan to replace their computers is in two years (22 percent).

To learn more about Slimware Utilities, visit www.slimwareutilities.com.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Slimware Utilities from April 7-11, 2016 among 2,157 U.S. adults age 18 and older, among which 2,070 are computer owners. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Stephanie Cooley at Stephanie@dottedlinecomm.com or 415-254-0318

About Slimware Utilities Holdings, Inc.

Slimware Utilities automates the solutions to the world's computer problems. Slimware Utilities' cloud-based, crowdsourced software provides consumers with personalized applications developed from the community input of IT users everywhere for improved PC performance. Slimware Utilities is operated by IAC Applications, a leading consumer software and applications company. For more information, please visit www.slimwareutilities.com.