When we think back to the year 2000, it can seem like a different world. Twenty-one years ago, smartphones didn't exist. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram didn't exist. The only social media platforms at that time were primarily peer-to-peer messaging services from Yahoo and America Online. Research In Motion was still two years from launching its BlackBerry device. And people had just realized that Y2K would not disrupt digital operations.
The technological advancement we have experienced since then has been nothing short of remarkable. Innovations in data, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed our daily lives. From purchasing a variety of products on Amazon to ordering groceries and restaurant meals on our smartphones and splitting dinner checks on Venmo, the gathering of data continues to optimize the services with which we interact.
And the pace of this digital growth isn't slowing down. In 2014, there were 2.9 billion Internet users in the world, according to Internet Live Stats. By mid-2019, that number had increased by more than half to more than 4.4 billion internet users around the globe. Today, Americans use more than 4 million gigabytes of data every minute.
Furthermore, consumers rely on mobile devices more than ever. Americans look at their smartphones 52 times a day on average, according to Deloitte's 2018 Global Mobile Consumer Survey. The Pew Research Center reports that more than 81% of Americans now own a smartphone — a significant increase from 35% in 2011.
In financial services and wealth management, the benefits of this data-driven digital advancement offer many opportunities for financial advisors to serve clients better. While many Americans are concerned about protecting the data they share with financial institutions and other service providers, most are willing to provide more data if they receive greater value for it.
