• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, March 28, 2016

Discussions about IoT adoption often take into consideration the expectations of what the next generation will do.

This is a challenging concept, since the next generation won’t be looking at buying the current generation of IoT products.

But there are starting to be some early indicators of some of the thinking of the next generation, at least about the current state of smart or connected objects.

For example, only 9% of teens are likely to own a wearable, according to a study of how teens and millennials use email, conducted by Adestra, a marketing a technology company.

More (19%) millennials, in this case those 19-34 years old, are more likely to own wearables.

As yet another indicator of not yet jumping aboard the IoT train, the majority (54%) of elementary school age children and 59% of those in middle school have no great interest in autonomous cars, as I wrote about here recently (Driverless Cars: Youngsters Don’t Want Them Either).

And it’s not because they don’t know about them, since most (57%) young Americans are aware of self-driving cars.

Of course, measuring the view of youngsters on say, wearable technology, is generally based on the state of wearable technology today. So if someone is 16 years old today, they may be in the market for a wearable when they’re 21.

The state of wearable technology today compared to five years from now could be like going from the early days of BlackBerries to the later days of  state-of-the-art smartphones like Apple’s iPhone or Android’s Nexus.

And behaviors change. For example, most (61%) of those 14 to 18 years old have iPhones. However, the majority (57%) of those 19 to 34 years old have an Android device.

The behavior of teens relating to the adoption of the Internet of Things is a moving target, as is the evolution of the IoT itself.

The magic and the marketing opportunity will explode when the two near alignment.