An upward trajectory — Americans more pleased than ever with the tech in their lives

By Lulu Chang Published September 27, 2016

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Congratulations, America. We’ve gotten happier about the technology in our lives.

As per the latest report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, we’re more pleased than we have been in a while when it comes to our PCs, TVs, computer software, and household appliances. But being “more pleased” doesn’t exactly translate to “thrilled.” As the ACSI found, we’re generally giving our electronics and household appliances a B-range score. Unsurprisingly, the piece of tech we like the most? Our television sets.

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According to the 2016 ACSI Household Appliance and Electronics Report, personal computers — which were defined to include desktops, laptops, and tablets — now have a score of 78 on a scale of 0 to 100. Desktops, surprisingly, are actually our overall favorite, scoring 81 points, while tablets actually beat out laptops by one point (78 to 77). As for the software that these computers are running, consumers are far happier than they were before. This year, the assessment score for software for desktops and laptops increased 9.5 percent to a record-setting 81 points.

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Our homes, which have grown increasingly intelligent over the last several months thanks to an influx of connected devices, are also garnering pretty decent scores from consumers — at least, in terms of the appliances inside them. Household appliance satisfaction scores increased 1.2 percent to 82 in 2016, with customer satisfaction with LG products with a score of 85. Bosch and Samsung followed closely behind.

But all these scores are put to shame by the satisfaction ratings of televisions, Blu-ray, and DVD players. This year, the ACSI score for these devices came in at 87, another record. “TVs now lead among all ACSI industries by a substantial margin of 5 points,” the Index reports. “Functionality is improving as many TVs and video systems can connect to the internet and include apps for popular video platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and even YouTube,” which means that we’re now “exceptionally pleased with the value of newer TV models.”

So the next time you find yourself complaining about the technology in your life, know that at least overall, things are looking up.

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Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…

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