RESEARCH NEWS: Five personas of

the millennia generation revealed

Millennials (17-31 year olds) fall into five different personas, according to The Millennial Index.
The study revealed 28 per cent of Millennials are ‘digital window shoppers’. These people are less engaged online than many of their peers, this group is also less likely to influence peer opinion. 
Twenty-four per cent are 'digital socialites'. Highly sociable, they actively participate in online communities and social networks.
While, 21 per cent of  are ‘dynamic media junkies’. This group is fully immersed in a culture of dynamic media – video clips, animation and streamed film/TV. 
However, sixteen per sent of 17-31 year olds are only ' casually engaged’. Meaning that they are less engaged with the digital world than any of their peers, this group is more likely to be unemployed or in low paid jobs with less access to technology.
Finally, the remaining 11 per cent are 'the emerging technocracy’. This section is strongly engaged with the digital world, influencing large numbers of their peers.  They tend to be the highest earning members of their generation and are twice as likely to own a business or hold a senior management position already.
The survey also revealed that only a minority of Millennials (41 per cent) spend more than three hours a week on Facebook while 43 per cent don’t use Twitter at all.
Meanwhile, 65 per cent of Millennials spend more time accessing the internet via a laptop or desktop PC than via their smartphone or tablet.
Unlike the myth that this generation spends the majority of time socialising online and via mobile, the average Millennial spends 108 hours a year browsing the internet for work/study (almost as much time as they spend texting) and 77 hours a year reading news online (more time than on Twitter (71 hours a year) and the 36 hours they spend looking at celebrity gossip).
Overall, the research demonstrates that Millennials have a hugely diverse range of behaviours in their digital lives. While technology has enabled big behavioural shifts, it has at the same time made user behaviour even more complex.  The explosion in different behavioural patterns means marketers must beware of the trap of treating their Millennial customers as a homogenous group.
Claire Davidson, insight and strategy director at Bite, commented on the findings: “This new study has exposed the myths associated with Millennials. There have been so many studies of this generation and many have painted a far too simplistic picture of how 17-31 year olds actually behave.
“A failure to understand their real behaviour means brands will fail to provide them with content and services that fit with and enhance their lives. It is time we are realistic about this generation and what they do online.”

RAJ KISHORE SHARMA