With fast adoption of technology, early adopter influence on wane

In the fifth edition of its annual trend report, Ericsson has identified 10 hot consumer trends for 2016. As per the report, consumers believe artificial intelligence (AI) will soon enable interaction with objects without the need for a smartphone screen.

Also, the report claims that as the adoption of networked technologies is moving faster than ever, mass-market use is becoming the norm. As a result, the time period when early adopters influence others is now becoming shorter than before. The top three trends listed in the report include The Lifestyle Network Effect - Four out of five people now experience an effect where the benefits gained from online services increases as more people use them.

Globally, one in three consumers already participates in various forms of the sharing economy. Streaming Natives - Teenagers watch more YouTube video content daily than other age groups. Forty-six per cent of 16-19 year-olds spend an hour or more on YouTube every day. AI Ends The Screen Age - One in two smartphone users think smartphones will be a thing of the past within the next five years.