Florida’s Tech Industry, in Statistics: We’re Attached to Our Phones
By Space Coast Daily // May 23, 2024
It might be easy to scorn those who love their smartphones but a 2016 article from San Francisco State suggests that humans have always been fond of technology. Entitled “Television Use in the 21st Century”, researcher Jiyoung Cha discovered that respondents felt “affection” for the box, noting that it enabled social interaction. The programming itself is, apparently, secondary.
The smartphone is this century’s television, a device synonymous with living a life. We all have one – and a report from the Secure Data Recovery website indicates that Floridians are among some of the least likely people to give it up.
On a scale of 0-100, Florida scored 59.25 in Secure Data Recovery’s report, suggesting a reluctance to abandon technology. Maine, where residents are desperate for a break from their digital lives, scored 98.69. Oddly enough, people from Florida would like a brief separation from emails.
An Art Form
The tech world we can hold in our hands exists because of apps. Twenty years from the dawn of the mobile internet, websites are still cumbersome on mobile, representing the worst of the ‘big’ internet, i.e. the one accessible on desktops and laptops. In an app, developers can offer users the full functionality of a website without the restrictions of a browser. It’s become an art form in some places online, as designers seek to produce the most user-friendly software imaginable.
Even advanced applications like content streaming are available on smartphones, reducing the need for another device (although, it’s debatable whether developers will ever get the keyboard right). The best example is TV, like HBO MAX, but gaming is now native to mobile, too. The PlayStar casino app includes both live experiences and conventional slots and blackjack. In the former case, players can interact with a host in real time. It’s the best NJ casino app for some gamers, especially those who miss the authentic atmosphere of live lobbies.
Switched-on States
None of this occurs on a timescale with an end so tech start-ups will keep appearing. The giants in the space are already in Florida, too. Miami is home to Google, Apple, Facebook, and the site formerly known as Twitter, and a quarter of the Sunshine State’s tech business is located in Tampa. That’s not to mention Cape Canaveral and NASA. It’s perhaps easy to see why Floridians aren’t too eager to let go of their phones.
Of course, the state has a hand in keeping Florida tech-savvy. Florida invested $4bn in research and development in 2021 to support 13,065 high-tech start-ups. Overall, The Information Technology Council claims that the state gets $47.96bn of its GDP from its technology sector. How does that compare to the rest of the United States? While it definitely does rank among the most switched-on states, Florida falls some way behind seasoned goliaths like California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Texas.
With 8% of the workforce employed in tech, Florida might have some catching up to do but the state is in the best possible position to support its start-ups. And there’s certainly a whole market of tech-savvy Floridians eager to be catered to.
