With long-established media consumption patterns being constantly reshaped by younger Canadians, a new report from Ottawa-based Media Technology Monitor (MTM) shows pronounced differences in the online habits of younger and older millennials.
The 40-page report, A Profile of Millennials’ Media Technology Adoption and Use, divides millennials into two categories: Gen Z is defined as people aged 18-24, while members of Gen Y are defined as people aged 25-34.
As a group, millennials currently comprise just under 30% of the adult Anglophone population, with 18% identified as Gen Y and 11% identified as Gen Z. Gen Xers, identified as people 35-47, currently comprise 24% of the adult Anglophone population, while boomers represent a combined 34% of adult Anglophones.
Millennials are always connected and have never known life without cell phones or the internet. Not surprisingly, the MTM report notes that new technologies and services are of “great interest” to this particular group.
All hail the mobile
Online activity is at the centre of life for millennials, who spend an average of 27.6 hours per week connected. Smartphone penetration among millennials is 88%, while half of Gen Ys and 38% of Gen Zs own tablets.
Millennials are also particularly adept at multitasking, with nearly half (49%) saying they almost always or often go online and watch TV simultaneously, compared with just 27% of Canadians 35+.
Ninety per cent of millennials own a smartphone, compared with 58% of Canadians 35+. The iPhone is the leading smartphone brand among Gen Z (42%), followed by Android devices (38%). However, that is reversed for Gen Y: Android penetration is at 38%, and iPhone is at 36%.
Ninety per cent of millennials text, compared with 75% of older Anglophones, and as a group they are more likely to send or receive email on a cell phone than their older counterparts.
Nearly 90% of millennials are actively involved in social networking, compared with 56% of older Anglophones. While Facebook is a unanimous choice, millennials are more likely to use Twitter (33% Gen Z and 28% Gen Y, compared with 12% for older Anglophones) and Pinterest (17%, 18%, 11% respectively) than their counterparts.
Half of Gen Zs and 53% of Gen Ys are likely to make online video calls, with Skype the preferred service.
TV versus Online video
While the majority of millennials still have a paid TV service, the report identifies 25% of this group as being “tuned-out or off-air.” Millennials are twice as likely to be “tuned-out” as older generations, but are likely to binge-watch TV (67% of Gen Zs, 63% of Gen Ys).
Traditional media consumption varies greatly among the different generations. While older Anglophones 35+ spend 16 hours a week watching TV, that falls to 10.3 hours for Gen Y and 6.4 for Gen Z. Average radio consumption is 10.6 hours per week for older Canadians, falling to 7.6 hours for Gen Y and 5.3 hours for Gen Z.
Gen Zs watch an average of 10.5 hours of online video in a typical week, compared with 8.1 hours for Gen Y and 3.6 hours for older Canadians. YouTube is a leading online viewing destination, with 93% of Gen Zs and 88% of Gen Ys watching videos in a typical week.
Sixty three per cent of Gen Zs regularly watch a full movie on the internet, compared with 48% of Gen Ys and just 27% of older Canadians. Gen Zs also spend approximately 2.5 hours per week with Netflix, compared with 2.2 hours for Gen Y and 0.9 hours for older Canadians.
Radio
Only 17% of Gen Zs listen to streaming AM/FM radio stations in a typical month, compared with 28% of Gen Ys and 24% of older Anglophones. More than one third (35%) of Gen Ys used a personalized audio service such as Rdio and Songza in the past month, compared with 30% of Gen Zs and just 13% of older Anglophones.
The report is based on combined 2013-14 surveys of 6,011 Anglophone Canadians 18+, of which 1,746 are considered millennials. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20, while the results for millennials are considered accurate within plus or minus 2.3 percentage points.
