The Generation between 18 and 34 are inclusive of the Generation Y group. This younger Y Group has been referred to as the entitlement generation as they have a sense of entitlement to anything that is technology related. This means entitled to any new upgrade, product, tool, communication devices. The “Net Generation” is overwhelmingly deserving of another term, the C Generation for the Connection Generation since they are constantly connected. This group accounts for 23% of the U.S. population but accounts for 39% of smartphone users. Again, this is the Y Generation and or Net Generation.
Generation X who are between 35 and 49 years span outnumber the population by a few percentage points as they come in at 27% of the U.S. population. This generation uses their social networks slightly more than the Gen Y but as more enter into the Gen Y age range, this will change. Gen X uses their blogs, on-line videos more than any other generation.
Women use more social networks than men. Men account for 53% of the tablet owners. Women make 54% of the total trip to social sites vs. the male counterpart at 46% according to the latest research from the Nielsen NM group.
Whites make up the largest group of smartphone users, followed by Hispanics, followed by African Americans and then Asian Americans. In this same Nielsen report it stated that African Americans actually use their smartphones for talking, while the other groups use their phones more for texting to communicate. Their actual talk minutes are higher than other groups.
Hispanics and Asians are likely to access the Web on mobile devices rather than computers according to the study. This will have a huge impact on everything in the next few years. “Digital Omnivores consume content everywhere they go across every device whether it’s their PC, tablet, smartphone”, states Sarah Radwanick a communication analyst with ComScore. As people migrate around their city and globally, they are eating up communication content.
Around the country there are 274 million Americans with internet access compared to 132 million in the millennium year. The Federal Communications Commission noted that 100 million Americans do not have high speed internet service at home. They are concerned about digital elite. “We cannot have one third of the country out of the broadband economy. Getting online is a necessity, not a convenience,” states Chairman Julius Genachowski of the FCC.
Smartphone usage by generations is as follows:
Silent’s (over 65 yrs.): 6%
Boomers (50 – 64 yrs.): 20%
Generation X (35-49 yrs.): 30%
Generation Y (18-34 yrs.) 39%
Generation Z (13-17 yrs.) 6%
