Gen-Ys are technology trend-setters

If you can get Gen-Ys to love your technology, there is a good chance the rest of the market will follow, a Forrester Research study reported by Marketing Charts suggests.

If you can get Gen-Ys to love your technology, there is a good chance the rest of the market will follow, a Forrester Research study reported by Marketing Charts suggests.

Gen-Ys – people aged 18 to 28 – are more likely to own a PC, laptop, or video game system, have broadband or a home network than the any other generation, the research shows.

They are also the most voracious media consumers, being more likely to read a blog, visit a social networking site, watch a video online or do just about anything online than other people.

Gen-Xs (29 to 42 year olds) are leading the way on only a couple of ratings – they are the most likely to bank or make purchases online, and are slightly more likely to own a mobile phone.

“Gen-Y is the audience that most companies are struggling to understand right now because it’s key to their future revenue growth,” Forrester Research principal analyst Charles Golvin says. “Gen-Xers use technology when it supports a lifestyle need, while technology is so deeply embedded into everything Gen-Yers do that they are truly the first native online population.”

The research is based on a mail survey of more than 61,000 consumers in the US and Canada.

Read more on Gen-Y, Gen-X and technology