Generation Y prefers texting and email to social networks
When asked what they would least like to give up for one week, only nine percent of US consumers aged 18-24 said social networks, while 26% said email and 26% said texting, according to a new study.
The Participatory Marketing Network (PMN), conducted the study in partnership with Pace University’s Lubin School of Business’ IDM Lab, and it looked at time spent and preference for visiting social networks, reading/writing email, texting, talking on the phone, watching TV, reading magazines and surfing the web (non social media sites).
Michael Della Penna, PMN co-founder and executive chairman, said: “These results may be surprising to some, but not if you consider the role email continues to play in the day-to-day lives of Gen Y.
“As long as email remains the collection point for social networking updates, including alerts around new followers, discussion updates and friend requests, it will remain a powerful force in marketing and our lives.”
The research also found that interest in mobile marketing remains low among Gen Y, with only one in five now receiving targeted promotional messages and only four percent planning to do so in the future.
However, Epsilon’s recent Global Consumer Email Study said that 18-25 year olds around the globe are receptive to digital marketing messages.
Elsewhere, research from Hitwise revealed that Facebook now accounts for almost 60% of all social networking traffic in the US.