This year will be the year of the photo, while millennials will keep everyone guessing as they continue to buck traditional trends.

In no surprise to anyone, one of Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) predictions for 2016 is the continued popularity of the smartphone, but for uses other than the old phone call.

The TMT report anticipates that 26 per cent of smartphone users in developed markets will not make any traditional phone calls in a given week in 2016.

“In Australia our Mobile Consumer Survey 2015 showed that instant messaging (IM) use jumped nearly 70 per cent in 2015,” Deloitte technology partner Stuart Scotis said.

“Millennials have grown up with smartphones and tablets and use IM as their primary form of communication. They are leading the rise of the data exclusive, with social networks, IM and ‘over the top’ (OTT) messaging apps driving the trend.

“We see this as a customer need for both affordability and control. ‘Over the top’ services accessed via WiFi provide the cost incentive and the freedom to choose how, when, or if to respond.”

And with the rise of innovative smartphone technology, Deloitte national media lead partner Clare Harding said photos on the smartphone aren’t going anywhere.

“The Deloitte 2015 Australian Mobile Consumer Survey highlighted that Australians love to take photos, with 95 per cent of us having taken a photo on our smartphone,” Harding said.

In 2016 Deloitte predicts that 2.5 trillion photos will be shared or stored online, a 15 per cent increase on 2015.   The overall network impact of this will be 3.5 exabytes of data – that is 3.5 billion gigabytes – an increase of 20 per cent year on year.

“2016 will be the year of the photo,” Harding said at the TMT media briefing. “The question is when, or is, the video next?”

Harding added the trends show that, millennials especially, are “more likely to respond to a photo post rather than if it’s a text-only post”, citing a change in the “way we interact to share moments”.

“There’s a dominance of the smartphone – they’re ubiquitous,” Harding said. “And we think this is going to continue to grow.”

“Photo-sharing apps, fast wireless networks and the increasing quality of smartphone cameras are catalysing this trend with age no barrier, as Aussie Grandmas also show us how it’s done,” Harding continued.

“Our survey revealed that in Australia women (73 per cent) are far more likely to use their smartphone to share a photo on social media compared with men (57 per cent) and that not only is Grandma likely to take your photo (29 per cent taking photos weekly), she might also post it on social media (7 per cent posting weekly)!”

But one of the more interesting, and probably slightly hipster, trends, is the continued rise of the PC for millennials, and the tendency for young kids to avoid conformity and surprise trend-watchers.

“Trailing millennials (18-24 year olds) are also predicted to buck a trend in 2016,” Scotis said. “Just as in 2015 when Deloitte predicted that print books would continue to dominate the publishing industry, we are now predicting that the generation most expected to give up the PC will do just the opposite, and be the most pro-PC of all age groups.”

“Despite being the smartphone generation, millennials see PCs as complementary to their mobile device, rather than a substitute. Trailing millennials are more than happy to have a smart phone in one hand and a laptop open in front of them.

“They prefer PCs for streaming content and watching long videos, computer games, working and studying, online shopping, banking and creating and editing content.”