Baby Boomers, Gen Xers versus Millennials: A Different View of the Internet

In the last week, we asked our readers and their friends to tell us what they are doing with the today’s technology. The goal was to target the "non-youth" market and was intended to be fun while giving us a glimpse into what we geezers are doing with the tools we have. This will be the first in a series where we'll blog about what we learned.

First things first: we had 134 participants, 25% male (where are the guys?) and 75% female. We had a range of ages participating, but the majorities were Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. A majority of our poll takers graduated college with many sporting an advanced degree. Most reported worked for a corporation, but we had a good mix of people doing other things including a few retired folks.

Participant Age Breakdown

Participant Level of Education

Participant Employment Status

One of the most interesting differences between what we have heard from our Teen Lab Members versus what these adults are telling us is how they view the power of the Internet. While our teens are interested in building their own, personal brands – and see the Internet as a way to do just that – our adults see it differently. Their answer reflects the way we grew-up with the web, using it as a tool to get information and do research.

How Participants See the Role of the Internet

To understand the importance of building a personal brand, check out a new website called Ziggs as it is starting to get attention. It bills itself as a “one-stop source for building your online brand, marketing yourself on the web and simplifying communications with people.” I have signed up for the service and the interface looks interesting but it seems like it is targeting a “professional” audience who is likely to be older. It’s kind of a cross between Facebook and LinkedIn with some ego-features built in (e.g. see who is searching for you on Google).

Contrast that with new research from the Consumer Reports National Research Center that says, “93% of Americans think internet companies should always ask for permission before using personal information, and 72% want the right to opt out when companies track their online behavior.” It seems we are willing to participate in online activities but we are conflicted about what is required to do it.

We’ll have more on this interesting contrast between adults and youth. Stay tuned and feel free to comment and join the discussion!