Generation Y are those in the 18- to 28-year-old range and as you might imagine they are the most tech savvy of any generation. That means that if you are a company targeting this demographics that you need to be aware of what and how these twenty-something’s are using technology. Forrester recently released its 2008 North America Technographics Benchmark survey and here are some of the findings for the Generation X and Y group.
Generation Y Stats
- 90% of Gen Y own a computer (I would have expected it to be a little higher)
- 82% own a mobile phone
- 72% of Generation Y mobile phone users send or receive SMS messages
- They spend more time online than they do watching television, with 42% watching online video at least once per month.
What is interesting is comparing how Generation Y and Generation X (aged 29 to 42) view and use technology differently. Generation X users use technology are much as Gen Y but for X’ers they use technolgy when it when it supports a “lifestyle need” whereas tech is “embedded into everything Gen Yers do” making them the first “native online population”.
Generation X Stats
- 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
- 21% of Gen X are now reading a blog once per month compared to 15% last year
- 61% of mobile subscribers text compared to 49% in 2007 (That is a significant increase. I wonder how much the iPhone has had to do woth that increase?
Consumers between 18 and 42 are driving the technology revolution and agenda today. How is your company adapting its marketing message to appeal to these two digital generations?
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Chris Patterson 08.11.08 at 11:24 pm
I own and operate an Internet and New Media company. It is still shocking to me how Baby Boomers who are running companies or have corporate careers are so resistant to adopt the new marketing initiatives that are available to them. The most surprising ones to me are the companies who are actually targeting gen X and Y and still move at tortoise speed. This is a great article. I am reposting it on inSocialMedia.com