{"id":93877,"date":"2016-01-14T07:46:30","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T12:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2016\/01\/14\/scenario-home-activities-comfort-and-data-capture\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:17:16","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:17:16","slug":"scenario-home-activities-comfort-and-data-capture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2016\/01\/14\/scenario-home-activities-comfort-and-data-capture\/","title":{"rendered":"7. Scenario: Home activities, comfort and data capture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Smart<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

The emergence of \u201csmart\u201d home devices and appliances has long been anticipated by both science-fiction writers and technology enthusiasts. In recent years, a number of firms have begun initiatives related to the Internet of Things, particularly in the realm of smart homes and appliances. A 2012 canvassing of technology experts by Pew Research Center found widely varying prophecies about whether smart systems<\/a> would live up to their promise and take hold among consumers in the ways that forecasters were predicting.<\/p>\n\n

Smart thermostats<\/a>, which have often been promoted as a way to save energy and promote personal safety, are some of the earliest smart-home devices to gain a foothold in the marketplace. However, Americans are not generally comfortable with the implicit trade-offs outlined in the following scenario:<\/p>\n\n

A new technology company has created an inexpensive thermostat sensor for your house that would learn about your temperature zone and movements around the house and potentially save you on your energy bill. It is programmable remotely in return for sharing data about some of the basic activities that take place in your house like when people are there and when they move from room to room.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Some 55% of adults find this a \u201cnot acceptable\u201d scenario, while 27% say it is acceptable. Another 17% say \u201cit depends\u201d on the particulars of the arrangement. Those ages 50 and older are among the most likely to say it is not acceptable: 69% say this, compared with 48% of those under age 50.<\/p>\n\n

Many of those who weighed this scenario were focused on what specific information is collected, who it is shared with, and what happens to their data after it is captured:<\/p>\n\n

Movements around the house are fine (for example, only heat bedrooms at night), but I would not want it to record when people are or aren’t there (potential security risk).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

[This would be OK with me]<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cA learning thermostat is a great idea and exists already. But sharing data about my movements with someone else \u2018on the other end\u2019 is not acceptable. That’s an invasion of privacy. Nobody needs to know my movements within my house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI would be concerned that the data could be used to find out when nobody was home \u2013 I don’t want anyone tracking what I do in my home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

[heating, ventilation and air conditioning]<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cMovements around the house are fine (for example, only heat bedrooms at night), but I would not want it to record when people are or aren’t there (potential security risk).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI would be willing to use this service if they provided the thermostat for free and paid me a small amount each month to allow them to collect data on my household.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cDistribution to 3rd parties and data security would be key. I wouldn\u2019t want just anyone knowing my habits of coming and going. Might as well leave a sign for the burglars.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Many invoked the specter of security issues: As one respondent put it, \u201cThe security risks are not outweighed by the benefits.\u201d Others objected to their data being captured in a space \u2013 their home \u2013 that heretofore had been private:<\/p>\n\n

It is creepy to think someone is following you around, but the idea is a good one. Would have to know how intrusive \u2018basic activities\u2019 are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

\u201cMy house is too small, and\/or the upgrades necessary for my house to \u2018zone\u2019 the HVAC for different locations would be cost-prohibitive. It is my castle, and nobody needs to know how long I or any member of my family takes a shower or makes a meal.\u201d \u201cKnowledge is control. My utility company already chastises me for not being more \u2018efficient\u2019 as compared to my neighbors; I don’t need them to tell me to take quicker showers, or potentially charge me a \u2018shower premium!\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cCrosses a line \u2013 too intrusive. Goes into creepy zone of being watched!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cNo need for this camel to have its nose in my tent. Too voyeuristic.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cIt is creepy to think someone is following you around, but the idea is a good one. Would have to know how intrusive \u2018basic activities\u2019 are.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWhat I do and which room I am in my home is no one’s business but mine.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cDon’t want others to know when the house is unoccupied.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI don’t want that info possibly hacked.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

According to one focus group participant:\u201c I would be afraid that someone would hack into the data & use it to determine when your house is no occupied.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Others made the case for human choice and agency over assistance from a smart gadget. If people truly cared about energy safety and remote monitoring of their security, this argument goes, they would arrange for it themselves:<\/p>\n\n

My home. My temperatures. My control.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

\u201cI already, cut-to-the-bone, have a low electricity bill; this thermostat will not benefit me. I don’t use the heater or air conditioner.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI control my thermostat. Nobody else needs to have any sort of control over how I cool\/warm my house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cMy home. My temperatures. My control.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cAll of this stuff is way too invasive of my personal space! It\u2019s like they all want to be in control of everyone at all times. Know what we are doing etc. No thank you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cBecause in your home you are not being watched or tracked and that should be your one place away from all that sensor nonsense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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