The Internet Generation by Moses Isaac

The internet generation, sometimes referred to as generation Y, the millennial generation, or the Nintendo generation, this generation was weaned online. In the US, the older members of the internet generation, born in the in the early 1980s, are just coming to the end of their formal education.

Generation Y is estimated to number more that 1.5 billion, almost as many as the post-war baby boomers, and dwarfing generation X, who are sandwitched in between Generation Y are marked by a distinctly world view, say marketing experts.

Raised in dual-income or single parent families generation Y have already been given considerable financial responsibility. Surveys show that they are deeply involved in family purchases, from groceries to cars. One in nine US high school students has a credit card co-signed by a parent, and many will take on debt to finance college. Most expect to have careers and are thinking about home ownershp. Early observations of the internet generation in the US indicate that this generation is different from earlier teenagers in significant ways.

- They are more ethnically diverse than previous generations.

- They are more tolerant of cultural and behavioural differences.

- Members of the internet generation are not interested in devoting their lives to work but cannot wait to start spending.

- Health and fitness is a concern, but they are still tempted by fast food,clubbing and drugs.

- They are interested in spirituality and experiment with religiion, but will not necessarily commit to one religion.

- They change fashion and style based on times of the day. Grunge by day; exotic by sight.

- They have grown up in prosperous times and are more optimistic that their older brothers and sisters.

Having grown up in an even more media-saturated, brand-conscious world than their parents generation Y respond differently to advertising, and prefer to encounter advertisements in different places. Marketers that capture the internet generation's attention do so by bringing messages to places they congregate: the internet, a snowboarding tournament, or cable TV ads may be funny or disarmingly direct. Some previously successful marketing strategies may fall flat with this audience.

Soon almost every business is going to have to learn the nuances of marketing to the internet generation. In just a few years, today's teenager will be out of college and shopping for their first cars, homes, and mutual funds. The distinctive buying habits displayed today will follow them as they enter the high spending years of young adulthood. Firms unable to click with them will miss a vast new market - and could find the doors thrown open to new competitors.

Fortunately, we can gather further clues about the internet generation's future behaviour and preferences by examining their forerunners: today's consumers users of e-business. this is a small (if growing) group, but an importance predicto of things to come.

Moses Isaac
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