A new report just out from Forrester confirms my long-standing view that the migration of American households to a digital life is accelerating, the leading side-effect of the Law of Disruption.

A summary of the report in The New York Times on Sept. 2, 2009 notes that the speed with which consumers are adopting disruptive technologies is increasing.  Where earlier disruptive technologies such as railroads and telephones took decades to achieve mainstream status, digital technologies follow a much shorter cycle–getting shorter still all the time.

According to Charles S. Golvin, co-author of the report, “The digitization of our daily lives has been steadily ramping up over the past decade.”  For example, HDTV will reach 70% penetration within five years.  Sixty-three percent already have broadband access.

Most technology followers are familiar with the technology adoption curve shown below.

The curve suggests that the majority of consumers wait until innovators and early adopters have already embraced new technologies, working out the bugs and building up enough base to drive prices down.  In Geoffrey Moore’s famous adaptation of the curve, technology marketing requires an early focus on the gadget geeks, but requires a critical shift to the later-stage adopters at just the right moment, or what Moore referred to as “the chasm.”

The Forrester report does not challenge the shape of the curve, only the timeframe with which digital technologies move through it.  The increase in speed causes increased conflict with social, economic and legal systems that adapt much more slowly to change than do today’s consumers.