GenY (people between the ages of 18 and 28) spends 12.2 hours online each week, or 28 percent longer than GenXers (27- to 40-year-olds), and almost twice as long as 51- to 61-year-old Baby Boomers.
The finding comes from a new study by Forrester Research assessing consumer technology adoption.
The survey finds that GenY is also much more likely to engage in social activities while
online--for example, GenYers are 50 percent more likely than GenXers to send instant messages, twice as likely to read blogs, and three times as likely to use social networking sites like MySpace.
"All generations adopt devices and Internet technologies, but younger consumers are Net natives who spend more time online than watching television," said Ted Schadler, Forrester Research vice
president and co-author of the study, in a statement. "Younger generations live online, reading blogs, downloading podcasts, checking prices before buying, and trading recommendations."
Additional findings from the study: Forty-one percent of North American households now have broadband Internet access at home--up from 29 percent at the end of 2004.
Seventy-five percent of
North American households have mobile phones, and almost half of them make the bulk of their long-distance phone calls on these mobile phones. Forty-five percent of GenYers, 27 percent of
GenXers, and 17 percent of 41- to 50-year-old younger BabyBoomers who have a mobile phone use it for data services, led by text messaging, ring tones, and games. Cross-channel shopping
continues to grow. GenYers, for example, are 73 percent more likely to research online and shop offline today than they were in 2004. Ninety-one percent of online households use a search
engine once a week or more. For online GenYers and Gen Xers, Google attracts 62 percent of searchers, and 25 percent limit their searches to only Google. Seventy-eight percent of online
GenYers and 61 percent of online seniors aged 62 and up book or research travel online. Forrester surveyed 66,707 U.S. and Canadian households for its "North American Consumer Technology
Adoption Study 2006 Benchmark Survey."
Hey, All You Stars... It's
that time again: MediaPost seeks nominations for the Online All Stars. We are seeking individuals who exemplify excellence and leadership in online media, marketing and advertising. Media company
executives and online ad technology providers/vendors will not be considered. The editors will select three marketers, three media agency strategists and three creative directors who
passionately evangelize and deploy digital media and marketing strategies. The All Stars will be feted at a party on Sept. 25 during the OMMA Conference & Expo and honored in the pages of
OMMA magazine's October issue. The deadline has been extended: send all nominations to telkin@mediapost.com with "All Stars" in the subject
line by noon on Aug. 9. |