What generation gap?

The 2009 Media Engagement Barometer commissioned by Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business  suggests that age no longer dictates a consumer’s willingness or ability to use media technology or services.

All generations — Millennials (75%), Gen Xers (74%) and Boomers (66%) — recognize the role entertainment technologies play in helping them keep their lives in order, which helps explain why Millennials (80%), Gen Xers (78%) and Boomers (78%) are equally likely to desire to be constantly connected.

"The barometer findings have demonstrated how networking technologies have had a really powerful impact in integrating the different facets of people’s lives, and the "digital generation divide" that we perceived to dictate technology is now shifting toward a usage-based definition,” said Dan Moloney, president of Motorola’s Home & Networks Mobility business, in a statement.

The purpose of the study was to explore how different generations engage through technology products and services with family, friends and colleagues. Interviewers questioned a survey sample of 1,000 Americans ranging from 16-64 years old.

SURVEY FINDINGS
• Connectivity is more of a lifestyle issue. Being accessible at all times is seen as a necessity across generations (Millennials, 79%; Gen Xers, 64%; Boomers, 65%).

• There is a two-way dialogue between consumers of all ages as they engage with technology products and share their experiences. The majority of Americans report influencing the decisions of their children (75%), friends (74%), colleagues (67%) and parents (58%).

• Parents, grandparents and children alike are actively engaged in the tech sphere of influence. Gen X and Boomer parents reveal that they are influencing their children’s tech habits (Gen Xers, 87% and Boomers, 79%) even more than their Gen X (62%) and Millennial (76%) children influence their habits.

• Seven in 10 Americans (70%) feel it’s "important for me to always be accessible," and nearly eight in 10 (78%) feel they are constantly connected with family, friends and colleagues, regardless of physical location.

• In spite of their everyday use of technology, 70% of those surveyed are still excited by the ability to live a connected lifestyle and, regardless of where they are, have become reliant on the ability to access and share content, including video images, anytime, anywhere. Sixty-six percent of Americans expect to be able to access the same content no matter where they are.

• As of today, the majority of Americans (57%) across all generations have received a customized recommendation from a program based on their individual tastes, and roughly half of those have received a customized suggestion have acted on it (44%).

• Traditionally, Millennials have been touted as the "tech generation" and viewed as the primary influencers on their parents’ technology purchases and behaviors. Motorola’s 2008 study among Millennials revealed that 71% of Millennials have influence over parental decisions about cable, DSL or dish-satellite services.