Americans are suspicious that software updates make their electronic devices worse: research

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · Jun 03, 2026 · 1014 words · By SWNS

Technological Alienation Consumer Skepticism Corporate Intent

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What to know about Technological Alienation

Americans are suspicious that software updates make their electronic devices worse: research See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 25

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Americans are suspicious that software updates make their electronic devices worse: research See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleA majority of Americans believe software updates are making their devices worse, not better, according to new research.

Common ground

adults found a majority (54 percent) believe it’s done to push them towards premium features or device upgrades.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Technological Alienation story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that However, the moment after an update is installed, 35 percent reported feeling happy, and 23 percent feel excited?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/tech/americans-believe-software-updates-make-their…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 25 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 15

check_circle Corroborated 4

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “However, the moment after an update is installed, 35 percent reported feeling happy, and 23 percent feel excited.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 2: “A third (32 percent) have delayed or avoided updates because they were concerned it would slow down or make their devices unusable to the point of having to replace them.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 3: “As a result, more than three-quarters (78 percent) avoid changing anything on their devices unless absolutely necessary”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results for '78' returned mathematical definitions and unrelated brands, but no source confirming the 78% statistic regarding avoiding device changes.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 78 (number) ... 78 (seventy-eight) is the natural number following 77 and preceding 79.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/78_(number)

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States that runs 144 miles (232 km) from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_78

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Three ways to bring 78 to your line: free chef samples, wholesale accounts for restaurants and hotels, and co-branded condiment programs for hospitality groups.
https://78brand.com/

schedule

Claim 4: “Forty-four percent have experienced app updates that have negatively impacted their ability to complete tasks they could do before.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “Others either wait a day or two (26 percent) or at least a week (30 percent) before installing the update.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support these specific percentages.

verified

Claim 6: “Still, more than half of millennials (54 percent), Gen X (52 percent), and baby boomers (56 percent) also believe updates cater to people younger than them.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of general Wikipedia definitions of Gen X and Millennials or unrelated numbers; no source in the evidence set confirms the specific percentages for these age groups.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gen X usually refers to Generation X, the demographic coming after baby boomers but preceding Millennials. Gen X may also refer to: Abbreviation for Generation X (comics) Working title of Gen13 Gener…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_X_(disambiguation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generation X, often shortened to Gen X, is the demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth year…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X is the 33rd season of the American competitive reality television series Survivor. It was broadcast by CBS between September 21 and December 14, 2016. The season was fi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_Millennials_vs._Gen_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 7: “This was especially apparent for Gen Zers themselves, 63 percent of whom believe updates are only designed for them.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general survey is corroborated, the specific 63% figure for Gen Z is mentioned in one search snippet but not independently confirmed by multiple distinct news organizations in the provided evidence.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Barefoot Gen (Japanese: はだしのゲン, Hepburn: Hadashi no Gen) is a Japanese historical manga series written and illustrated by Keiji Nakazawa, loosely based on Nakazawa's experiences as a survivor of the H…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barefoot_Gen

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gen is most commonly seen as a contraction (such as Gen.) and it may refer to: Book of Genesis General officer Generation#Western world as in GenX, GenZ, etc. Genitive case Gen may also refer to: Ge…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gen V is an American satirical superhero television series, developed by Craig Rosenberg, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke, serving as a spin-off of The Boys by Kripke, and loosely based on The Boys com…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_V

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 8: “Close to half (46 percent) haven’t updated their smart TVs or their vehicle’s built-in infotainment system in half a year.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “The study found that 40 percent of Americans need a few days to get comfortable with changes made by software updates, and 25 percent take weeks or even months to adapt.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 10: “Nearly half said they’ve updated their phones within the past month (48 percent) — though those with iPhones did so more than their Android peers (49 percent compared to 42 percent respectively).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “Six percent said it takes them a full year before they get comfortable with changes.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 12: “If an update offered to improve the security of devices, but only slightly changed the design, 68 percent of people said they’d install the update — including 28 percent who said they’d press the button “right away.””

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 13: “The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults found a majority (54 percent) believe it’s done to push them towards premium features or device upgrades.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web sources (Talker Research, a general news report, and another survey summary) all cite the specific figure of 54% of 2,000 U.S. adults believing updates push them toward premium features or upgrades.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Georgia ( JOR-jə) is a state in the Southeastern, South Atlantic, and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the northwest, North Carolina and South Carolina to the northeas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American multinational banking institution headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and incorporated in Delaware. It is the 7th-largest bank in the United St…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Bancorp

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open championship of golf in the United States. It is the third of the four major championships, and is on the offic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Open_(golf)

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 14: “And 15 percent put it off until they’re forced to.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support this specific percentage.

schedule

Claim 15: “And a majority (54 percent) of tablets were also updated within the past month — again, iPads more so than Android tablets (56 percent, compared to 47 percent, respectively).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 16: “Commissioned by UserTesting and conducted by Talker Research, the survey highlighted how people have felt burned and betrayed by poor update practices in the past.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 17: “Meanwhile, 29 percent said they adapt within minutes.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 18: “More than half (56 percent) say they feel anxious or annoyed right before hitting “update””

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 19: “Others claim it’s because updates take too much time to install (15 percent), fear of updates resetting or changing their settings (15 percent), and concerns that the update will add unwanted AI features (15 percent).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 20: “Talker Research surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by UserTesting and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Apr. 8 and Apr. 14, 2026.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 21: “A majority of Americans believe software updates are making their devices worse, not better, according to new research.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources (djournal.com, Nonstop Local News, and others) report that a majority of Americans believe software updates make their devices worse.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults found a majority (54 percent) believe it's done to push them towards premium features or device upgrades. And just ...
https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/tech/americans-believe-softwar…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 3, 2026 ... A majority of Americans believe software updates are making their devices worse, not better, according to new research.
https://www.djournal.com/news/national/do-software-updates-m…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jul 19, 2019 ... So often it seems that an update makes the device function worse. Profile photo for Quora User.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-people-so-obsessed-with-softwa…

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Claim 22: “And just as many (55 percent) believe updates are designed to only make sense to younger people.”

CORROBORATED

The claim that 55% believe updates are designed to only make sense to younger people is reported by multiple sources, including the Talker Research-based reports.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 23: “In fact, 62 percent believe OS updates disrupt the daily usage of their devices, and 53 percent believe app updates do the same.”

CORROBORATED

Three independent sources (ttownmedia.com, UserTesting, and another news report) explicitly confirm the 62% figure for OS updates and 53% for app updates disrupting daily usage.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple for its iPhone line of smartphones. It was unveiled in January 2007 alongside the first-generation iPhone, and was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — macOS (previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a proprietary Unix operating system, derived from OPENSTEP for Mach and FreeBSD, which has been marketed and developed by Apple since 2001. It is the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — OS, O.S., Os, O's, or os may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 24: “most commonly, it’s simply because they forget an update is available (23 percent) or that they’re happy with the current software and feel nervous about new versions being worse (22 percent).”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 25: “When updates become available, only 20 percent install them immediately.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided mentions 20% in the context of a 2022 CSA survey for people 55+, but does not confirm the 20% figure for the general population of the specific study mentioned in the claims.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Update installations certainly fall under this category of mutual understanding, with 49% of respondents feeling like they have to install updates on their ...
https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/device-updates-report/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Upgrades are released much less frequently than updates, and they can take a while to install because of their size. Older devices may not be eligible for ...
https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/about-software-up…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sep 9, 2023 ... More respondents enabling 2FA and installing cybersecurity apps but fewer accepting software updates immediately ... 20% for respondents 55 ...
https://www.csa.gov.sg/news-events/press-releases/csa-2022-s…

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.