By Tim Ferguson, 25 July 2008 14:58
NEWS
Companies are having trouble keeping up with Generation Y consumers who are now setting the technology agenda.
Generation Y consists of 18- to 28-year-olds who are leading the way in technology adoption with nine out of 10 owning a PC and 82 per cent a mobile phone.
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Generation Y is also the most internet-savvy group, spending more time online than they do watching television, with 42 per cent watching online video at least once per month.
Meanwhile 72 per cent of Generation Y mobile phone users send or receive SMS messages.
Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester Research said Generation Y is the audience companies are most struggling to understand - a key issue due to their importance for future revenue growth.
The older Generation X (aged 29 to 42) also use technology extensively but more when it "intersects with a personal need or fulfils a desire".
Golvin said the key distinction between Generation X and Y is that Generation X uses technology when it supports a "lifestyle need" whereas tech is "embedded into everything Gen Yers do" making them the first "native online population".
During the past three months, 69 per cent of Generation Xers have shopped online and 65 per cent used online banking - more than any other group.
And Generation X is increasingly using online and mobile technologies with 21 per cent now reading a blog once per month compared to 15 per cent last year. In addition, 61 per cent of mobile subscribers text compared to 49 per cent in 2007.
The research is part of Forrester's 2008 North America Technographics Benchmark survey which gathered data from around 61,000 consumers in the US and Canada.
Comments
There are 4 comments. Join the discussion
1. michael
Yea, its true. My company also faced the problem.
2. Dick Vinegar
Forget the 18-28 year olds. My grandson, aged 14 has now been in the Bebo YouTube world for two years. His, and his mates', perceptions of computers is even closer than generation Y.
Sadly, the schools and Universities do not appear to have modified their curricula to cope with Generation Z.
3. Richard
Seems to be based on USA data:
According to the final paragraph, this report is based on data from USA & Canada.
Research in UK & Europe would give different results: For example, we've had GSM and its SMS for much longer.
4. anonymous
This is old news. No different from saying 15 years ago that generation X used CD's.So called gen Y are simply young people who have more time on their hands and spend more time on line and on social networks. As they settle down and have families , they will use their time more sparingly and will use technology when they need it.
Either way it has little impact on businesses who will adopt technology when it suits and has an ROI as they have always done.Some will survive and some will go under as always but technology is rarely the reason.