Future Forward: The Parallel Universe

Michael Hedges July 30, 2010 Follow on Twitter

Studies of media culture, new and old, abound. Consultants and researchers are asking lots of questions, the answers to which point in the same direction. The future will arrive.

Like many new media studies, a recent examination of German young people between 20 and 39 years by Interone and Jelden Trend & Transformation – The Age Of On - is filled with observations intended to shine light from a new direction on the nagging question about the perplexing all. Now that new media can’t be written off as a fad, what happens? Research by the volume confirms the anecdotes, bringing joy to some and despair to others.

Clear from The Age Of On study is the degree to which the internet and mobile phones are shaping media behavior of young adults. The study paid particular attention to usage of and interest in the Apple iPhone as the emblematic new media device. Understanding new media behavior requires a hard look at how people use these technologies.

Consumer behavior specialists tend to cast a wary eye toward studies of teenagers and, equally, early adopters. Both groups, for different but similar reasons, behave differently from adults. Teenagers, no value judgment intended, are just learning, trying everything. Early adopters try everything, discarding most of it. Once teenagers enter their 20’s and, certainly, their 30’s lifestyles tend – or have tended – to conform to more mainstream behaviors.

With regard to media behavior, all that made perfect sense until the internet became a significant information and entertainment delivery platform. When mobile phones were clunky single dimension voice and text delivery devices they were merely a utility. That changed with smartphones. Generation Y – also referred to as the Peter Pan generation – was born from the mid 1980’s through the turn of the 21st century and has never known a day without the internet.

It’s this demographic group the German researchers studied specifically about media usage. They have a lot to say about a very different emerging media environment. They also suggest the permanent failure of old media business models.

“The myth of convergence is at the end,” say the authors. The long held “convergence paradigm” supported the notion that “we would clearly need fewer devices.” Smartphones are telephones, cameras, music players, game consoles and computers. However, the study group also uses all these devices. “There is a large juxtaposition of difference devices and uses. Divergence is the new dogma.”

The Gen Y’s still love their television. “Television is an integral part of the modern media repertoire. An evening at home without television is exceptional.” More than half of the study group, however, surf the web when the television is on, two-thirds of iPhone users are blasting messages during TV programs. Nearly two-thirds always or often have the TV set on while they are at home. “Television has a relaxing and entertaining function.”

“Television is a source of inspiration,” say the study’s authors, prompting, it seems, further Web usage. About one in three check out background information on the Web about a program they watch. Of interest to the advertising department, one in four look up products they’ve seen on TV. One in eight send messages about TV programs they’re watching and 6% make comments on Facebook. “This parallel use is, in part, a connection to the current television program.”

Unsurprisingly, the Gen Y’s connection with print media has changed. “Newspapers and magazines have no place in everyday life.” Rarely buying newspapers or magazines, the German young people see online services as more timely and relevant. They do, however, read free sheets on buses, trains and in cafes.

All is not lost for publishers. “Print is used for deceleration, overview and depth. Newspapers and magazines are used preferably on weekends, if you have time for yourself, go on trips, a long breakfast.” Weekdays, says the study’s authors, are filled with “multitasking, networking and information overload,” not conducive to sitting with a newspaper. In a further note to the advertising department, nearly one in three go to newspapers or magazines for product information.

Radio is all but dismissed by the Gen Y’s. “Conventional radio plays even a smaller role in everyday life than print. Only in exceptional cases is the radio on.” The only-music radio channels, undistinguished but once highly profitable, have been replaced by streamed audio and podcasts. Radio, say the study’s authors, has “lost its meaning.” Yet another note for the advertising department: “It is likely that radio advertising subconsciously inspires impulse buying.”

It’s a new media world for the Gen Y’s. Four in ten use Facebook, 25% everyday. “Many have Facebook open all day.” Most only read, not post. “The news feed is their central information source.”

“The iPhone represents a new independence,” say the authors, reaching the heart of Gen Y’s motivation. “For short activities the iPhone replaces the laptop. It is used so excessively that partners are jealous and friends are annoyed.” One in four in the study group have smartphones, of which the Apple iPhone is one brand.

All behavioral studies are snapshots of time and place. The Age Of On study appears quite robust in developing and testing ideas. Slowly – but surly – we are coming to understand the effect of generations that have all their media experience with new technology. The Gen Y’s and their younger siblings live in a very different media world and, for at least another generation, the new and old will live in parallel worlds. One day it will all be changed.

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