When Ngo Phan's son was in high school, the IT professional used to hand down old computers and tech gadgets to his son, Jeremy Phan, once they got outdated.
Now 25-years-old with three degrees under his belt, Jeremy "hands up" his old desktop, MP3 players and cell phones to his parents after a couple years of use.
The Phans aren't alone in this new trend of upward technology movement. A new survey has found that nearly half of all students are "handing-up" outdated technology to their parents, who are running older and slower computers.
An Angus Reid-Intel survey found 45 per cent of students handed up older technology to their parents when they got something newer. They passed on devices such as desktops, laptops and MP3 players to the older generation in their household.
The "hand-me-up" trend shows that younger generations are out-pacing the technology they use by taking advantage of the many computing features available to them.
Intel Canada Manager Doug Cooper says the "handing up" practice is also a good way to recycle technology that could otherwise end up in the dumps.
While techn gadgets used to have an average lifespan of two to three years, it's been stretched to about four years with this new trend.
"In the end, it's productive for both [parents and teens]," says Cooper.
Only eight per cent of male students and 22 per cent of female students surveyed say they didn't hand up technology, because their parents have better computers.
The survey was completed in early July and sampled 500 randomly-selected Canadian parents of young adults aged 18-15 chasing a post-secondary education. The margin of error is within 4.4 per cent, which is 19 times out of 20.
