Hyperconnected Millennials

Teens and young adults brought up from childhood with a continuous connection to each other and to information will be nimble, quick-acting multitaskers who count on the Internet as their external brain and who approach problems in a different way from their elders, according to a new survey of technology experts.

Many of the experts surveyed by Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center and the Pew Internet Project said the effects of hyperconnectivity and the always-on lifestyles of young people will be mostly positive between now and 2020. But the experts in this survey also predicted this generation will exhibit a thirst for instant gratification and quick fixes, a loss of patience, and a lack of deep-thinking ability due to what one referred to as “fast-twitch wiring.”

Media Use Ages 18-34

According to Nielsen and NM Incite’s U.S. Digital Consumer Report, Americans ages 18-24 take their personal connection with each other and content to new levels, new devices, and new experiences like no other age group. These Americans embrace of all things digital.

Americans 18-34 make up 23% of the U.S. population, says the report, yet they represent an outsized portion of consumers:

• Watching online video (27%)
• Visiting social networking/blog sites (27%)
• Owning tablets (33%)
• Using a smartphone (39%)

Their ownership and use of connected devices makes this group them incredibly unique consumers, representing both a challenge and opportunity for marketers and content providers.

More information from the Nielsen U.S. Digital Consumer Report shows that  Since 2000, the number of Americans with Internet access has more than doubled from 132.2 million to 274 million, and online content is increasingly part of Americans’ entertainment fare. At the end of 2011, about one-third of consumers streamed long-form content such as a movie or TV show from the Internet through a paid subscription service like Netflix or Hulu-Plus.

Ignore Older Consumers at Your Own Peril

According to A.T. Kearney’s Global Maturing Consumer study, the fastest-growing consumer group will be over the age of 60.

In 1950, some 200 million people were in the “over-60″ group; by 2000 the number had risen to 600 million, last year to 800 million, and by 2050 the number will have reached 2 billion. Globally, this older population is increasing at a rate of 2.6% per year, considerably faster than the current 1.2% annual growth in the population as a whole. Further, the 80 years and older group is increasing at 4% per year.

The nature of age has changed. People are active and healthy well into their 70s and 80s. Worldwide, consumers aged 60 and older spent more than $8 trillion in 2010; by the end of this decade, they will spend $15 trillion

The use of technology is widespread, with 69% of respondents having both fixed-line and mobile phones. The percentage that uses only a mobile phone is 11%, while 22% have fixed-line phones only. Mobile phone usage declines sharply with age. However, as many as half of the respondents over 80 say they use one.

Mature consumers have time and want to be well informed, so they tend to be heavy Internet users and shoppers. Half of the survey respondents use the Internet, with 20% taking advantage of it for shopping, research and communication. The younger of the respondents, and the wealthier and older participants, say they tend to purchase more products online, and are also more likely to use home delivery services.

For more insight, see the full report.