Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Apparently you'll share your data to stop coronavirus

New Parks Associates survey says most of us are up for contact tracing, if the conditions are right.

Beyond the masks, distancing and the development of an eventual vaccine, the novel coronavirus is being fought on the streets with data: Who has it and who have they been in contact with? But people are pushing back on the idea of contact tracing in an era when many of us have had enough of the ways technology tracks us. Now what?

Parks Associates has just completed a survey of consumers' willingness to share phone data to help control COVID-19. 52% said they would be, and another 20% said yes if they were afforded at least one basic assurance, like making the process opt-in or anonymized. "It's pretty strong validation that this could be an option that some consumers are willing to do," says Jennifer Kent, Senior Director at Parks Associates. "For this moment, for this purpose, it's something that a lot of consumers are open to."

One of the strongest predictors of a person's willingness to have their contacts traced is whether they know someone with the virus, even if that person isn't sick. "If you know somebody in your social circle who has tested positive for COVID-19, you're much more willing to share your data," says Kent. "And as the pandemic continues on, there will be a higher percentage of the population that knows somebody who has tested positive." Parks found that about 7% of their respondents knew someone with the virus in March, a number which rose to 35% of respondents by May.

From the article "Apparently you'll share your data to stop coronavirus" by Brian Cooley.

Previously In The News

Roku’s Price Hikes Expose the AI Boom’s Toll on Everyday Gadgets

Roku commands roughly 28 percent of the U.S. connected TV platform market, according to Parks Associates data cited by both The Next Web and The Desk. More than 100 million households worldwide rely o...

Smart Home Integration: Dealers Face Big Challenges

According to fresh data from Parks Associates, a whopping 57% of dealers find this task either tough or impossibly tricky in 2026, climbing up from 44% in 2022. Clearly, as more American households lo...

Big cable companies lose subscribers in Q1 2026 but outpace Q1 2025: Report

Though they still are struggling, strategies big cable companies are using to stanch subscriber losses seem to be working, according to a new report from Parks Associates. Parks Associates report a...

Soaring Memory Prices Dampen Demand for Budget Smartphone

Rising DRAM costs are one of several factors increasing the cost of developing next-generation connected devices, observed Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO of Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market...