Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers

According to research firm Parks Associates, the majority of those surveyed indicated that they are not willing to share data collected from wearable devices, even if it meant receiving a discount on their health insurance premiums. In spite of this reluctance, these same consumers were willing to share data for the purpose of troubleshooting the devices themselves.

The results of the survey varied significantly by device. Forty-two percent of digital pedometer owners were willing to share data in order to receive a health insurance discount; for smartwatch owners the total was 35 percent; and for sleep-quality monitor owners it was 26 percent. Nevertheless, a solid majority of device owners was not willing to share data.

Consumers are justified in their concerns about health data privacy. The Los Angeles Times told in July of a security breach in October 2014 where hackers compromised UCLA Health Systems’ computer network, putting 4.5 million patients’ sensitive data at risk. What was troubling about the incident was that it took nearly seven months from the time suspicious activity was discovered in October, to May 5, which is when investigators determined the system was hacked. Additionally troubling was that the data was not even encrypted.

From the article "Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers" by Christopher Mohr.

Previously In The News

Percentage Of TV Antenna Households Doubles

The percentage of U.S. homes getting live TV channels through antenna has nearly doubled since 2013, to 15 percent of homes in 2016, according to Parks & Associates. Several factors contributed to the...

Here's The Top Ten Most Popular Streaming Services This Year

Netflix still leads all streaming video services by total subscribers, according to a new report by Parks Associates. That's followed by Amazon Prime, Hulu, MLB.TV, WWE Network, Sling TV, HBO Now, Cru...

Report: Viewers Say Churn is Based on Lack of New, Original Content

According to Parks Associates, it only gets worse from here. In its 2022 “OTT Streaming Trends to Watch” white paper, their data shows that the average churn rate was 40% in 2020. Right now, the avera...

Study Explains Why Facebook Needs To Work Faster To Stop The Flow Of Fake News

As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg published his manifesto outlining the company’s ongoing commitment to filter out false news and hoaxes without undermining free speech, the findings from a new study by...