Logitech has released a global study examining how people's sense of control over technology affects their mood, wellbeing and performance. The research found a clear divide between users who feel in control of their devices and those who do not.
The findings are based on surveys of more than 9,000 people across nine countries, alongside a separate poll of 1,350 IT decision-makers. The study centres on what Logitech calls a "Ctrl Score", which measures confidence, intentionality and attitudes towards technology.
It found that 77% of respondents believe people who feel more in control of their technology get more out of life. At the same time, 64% said tech friction leaves them feeling frustrated, anxious or angry, while 46% said it can make them feel helpless, embarrassed, exhausted or as though they are falling behind.
The effects also extended beyond the workplace. About 64% said tech friction affects their mood after work, and 63% said it affects their sense of control over their personal lives.
Control divide
According to the data, only 30% of respondents reported a high degree of agency over their technology, and just 10% qualified as fully in command under the study's framework. The remaining 70% were less intentional or less confident in how they use technology, which Logitech estimated equates to about 4.2 billion people globally.
The survey linked higher levels of control to stronger outcomes. Some 52% of respondents said control over their technology had enabled them to accomplish something they did not think was possible.
Physical devices appeared to play a central role in that sense of agency. Nearly 69% globally said they feel most in control when interacting with physical hardware, or equally in control with it, and 42% said they rely on physical devices more than they did five years ago.
In Australia, that figure was higher, with 77% saying they feel most in control when using physical hardware. Australian respondents were also less enthusiastic about AI than many of their peers overseas, with 13% saying they were excited about AI expanding what they can achieve.
National differences
The research showed marked differences between countries in how people view technology. China and Brazil recorded the highest levels of agreement that technology enables personal potential, at 80% and 78% respectively, compared with 45% in France, 55% in the US and 56% in Germany.
India and Brazil were the most optimistic that technology creates opportunities rather than pressures, both at 84%. France ranked lowest on that measure at 60%, below the global average of 74%.
Views on AI also varied sharply. While 41% of respondents in India said they were excited about AI expanding what they can achieve, the figure was 16% in the US, 15% in the UK and 13% in Australia.
The study also found that 41% of respondents would use time saved by technology handling routine tasks to focus on wellbeing, mental health and work-life balance. Among those with lower control scores, that share rose to nearly half, suggesting a stronger appetite for relief from day-to-day technology strain.
Gaming signal
Gamers emerged as a distinct group in the survey. Logitech found that 81% agreed gaming builds real-world confidence and reduces anxiety, with those effects carrying into work performance.
The findings point to a growing need to give users more agency as digital systems become more complex and AI tools spread more widely through daily life and work.
"With so much technological change happening so rapidly, it's understandable that people feel it is happening to them, not with them," said Hanneke Faber, Chief Executive Officer, Logitech.
"Logitech's Ctrl Tomorrow Study reveals that technology can either limit people's potential, or unleash it, at an individual, organisational, or global scale. This is truer than ever in the age of AI. The deciding factor is control: when humans control the tech of today, we control tomorrow," said Faber.