What One Millennial in São Paulo Thinks About Network Connectivity

What devices and applications are driving Millennials in São Paulo? How does that compare to their counterparts around the world? Read Simone Vieira’s account of her daily Millennial life in Brazil.

Millennials, the generation born between 1980 and 2000, are connected with technology as no generation has been before. And since they are estimated to make up 75 percent of the workforce and to have over $1 trillion in spending power in the United States alone by 2025, their attitudes about technology will impact the way service providers and technology vendors shape their services and products. This is the second in a series of blogs from millennials around the world opening up on how they use technology.

Millennials

Hi, I’m Simone Vieira, a Field Application Engineer for CommScope in São Paulo, Brazil. Let me tell you about my digital life.

I can’t imagine my life today without the Internet. I have three mobile devices (a phone, an iPad, and a laptop computer), but I prefer the phone. I’m always with my mobile phone from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to bed at night.

I use my iPhone to check the weather when I get up to decide how I am going to dress for the day, and then I check the traffic with my Waze app. Here in São Paulo we need to use it because we have a lot of high traffic areas. I’m always monitoring WhatsApp, which is my primary means of communicating with my friends. My phone is my best friend, and I’ve been using a mobile phone for 13 years now.

I use 22 different apps on my phone. I use BBC to read the news, and I use FaceTime to call my friends and family or some co-workers when necessary, but I prefer to use the WhatsApp messaging app. I also have Instagram, an app for my banking, some CommScope apps, and Pokemon Go. WhatsApp is quicker than e-mail, and most everyone I know uses it also. I schedule dates with my friends on WhatsApp, although sometimes we set up get-togethers with Facebook Messenger. When I’m out and about though, I sometimes use an app called Telegram, which is the Brazilian version of WhatsApp, because WhatsApp isn’t always available in São Paulo.

I have e-mail on my computer at work and on my phones as well, but I just use it for corporate e-mail. I don’t check my personal e-mail much – maybe every three days or so. I also do a lot of work on the iPad when I’m at the office – I use Evernote for meetings; it’s great because you can share with your team.

Even when I’m at home, I use my phone or maybe my iPad. I have a laptop computer, but I don’t use it very much. I do most of my work on my computer that is already integrated with my iPad and my mobile phone. I barely watch TV unless I want to watch something on Netflix –I use the TV set for that.

I pay my bills through a banking app; I use my phone’s camera to scan the barcode on a bill and pay it quickly. I really can’t believe people still use paper. I don’t use paper bills, and even when someone has a birthday, I don’t send a paper card. Instead, we have a group on WhatsApp where people can share greetings.

Overall, I’m a big fan of technology. In fact, I’m the technology resource in my family, sort of like the family help desk. When people have a problem they come to me.

In general, I think we can share more information more easily using online resources. Some people think the Internet will separate people and make them colder toward one another, but I think it’s the opposite. I think the Internet brings us together in many ways. The only exception to this is when I’m out to dinner or at a social event and I see people buried in their phone screens – I think that’s rude. Technology is awesome, but it can separate people when they’re at a social event. I think my generation could improve on social interaction by leaving their phones in their pockets on social occasions.

If I have any complaints, it’s that Internet service could always be faster and more ubiquitous. It’s fine at home (we have 70 megabits of broadband service), but the mobile data network here in Brazil is pretty bad – we don’t have connectivity everywhere, and it makes me anxious when I can’t connect. Faster Internet is always better, and like 79 percent of millennials in São Paulo (according to a recent CommScope survey) I would pay more than I’m paying now for higher speeds.

My main message is that I love technology because it is bringing people closer together and making our lives easier. I’m fortunate to work for CommScope because we create technology to make better communications happen.

Want to know more about Millennial’s use of technology? Download the CommScope research report “Your network: now serving Millennials.”