A new study from Bite and Redshift Research claims to have debunked some “common myths” about today’s Millennials and their approach to social media, mobile technology and celebrity culture.
The Millennial Index study revealed that only 41% of Millennials – taken from a sample of 2,000 17-31 year olds in the UK and US – spend more than three hours a week on Facebook, while 43% don’t use Twitter at all.
According to the report, young people are not spending as much time on the internet on smartphones and tablets as is often assumed; 65% spend more time accessing the internet via a laptop or a desktop than they do via their smart devices. Perhaps it’s not quite game over for the PC, as a study pointed towards earlier this week.
Of time spent online, the average Millennial spends almost as much time browsing the internet for work/study a year (108 hours) as they do texting, while 77 hours is spent reading news and 36 hours spent on catching up with the latest celebrity gossip.
Another common assumption is that Millennials are dazzled by celebrity culture and fame, causing them to have an “unrealistic view of life”. However, the study found that while many daydream about a glamorous lifestyle, the overall group consensus is that determination and hard work are the key to success. In fact, Millennials are more likely to share a work-related link than a celebrity story (30% and 18%, respectively).
“There have been so many studies of this generation and many have painted a far too simplistic picture of how 17-31 year olds actually behave,” said Claire Davidson, insight and strategy director at Bite.
“A failure to understand their real behaviour means brands will fail to provide them with content and services that fit with and enhance their lives. It is time we are realistic about this generatio and what they do online.”
The full report can be found here.
