The Internet of [Christmas] Things - the New Christmas Day Traditions

23rd December 2014

A new survey suggests that technology is changing the way people spend Christmas Day as younger generations create their own customs.

This Christmas, 18 to 24 year olds are just as likely to shop-online (12%) as watch the Queen's speech (13%); are more likely to send festive greetings via social media (34%) than by telephone (24%) and go to the pub (11%) than church (8%).

Commissioned by Gocompare.com, the survey asked over 2,000 UK adults how they will spend Christmas Day. It revealed that the Christmas tradition of catching-up with loved one remains strong, but that new technology, for young adults in particular, is changing the way in which we make contact and spend time together:

The survey also found that while most Brits (71%) will enjoy a home-cooked traditional Christmas dinner, 25 to 34 year olds are twice as likely to eat a ready-meal Christmas turkey and all the trimmings (8% compared with 4% for all adults).
Ben Wilson, spokesperson at Gocompare.com Home, commented: "Christmas traditions evolve and change as each generation creates their own customs and ways of celebrating the holiday. In recent years, the internet has become so integral to our everyday lives that it's not surprising it has changed the way we spend Christmas day.

"Skype and FaceTime enable us to make virtual visits to loved-ones, while online shopping allows us to bag some bargains in the post-Christmas sales without having to leave the sofa or elbow our way through the high-street crowds. New technology has also changed the way we watch films and TV. On-demand and catch-up services mean that we can watch our favourite Christmas programmes without having to remember to set the video recorder."