Which would you give up for a week, Facebook or email?
Another study of Generation Y behaviors was released yesterday. And, again, the results make you scratch your head and say, “Huh?”
This time: Gen Y would give up social networks before email and texting.
The willingness to give up sites like Facebook and Twitter to keep texting—that makes sense. But giving up social media to keep email?
The study was done by the Participatory Marketing Network (an organization that helps organizations market by participation rather than push and permission ) and Pace University’s Lubin School of Business IDM Lab. The survey evaluated the time Gen Y ‘rs spend social networking, reading/writing email, texting, talking on the phone, watching TV and surfing the Web (non social media sites) and their preferences for these activities.
According to the results of the study, email (26%) and text messaging (26%) tied for first as the activity Gen Y survey participants would least like to give up for a week. Then the results get even stranger.
Fifteen percent said TV was the activity they would least like to give up, 11% said phones and only 9% said visiting social network sites. Reading magazines, 7%, and visiting non social networking sites, 6%, were essentially the activities Gen Y would most likely give up for a week.
As I scratch my head, I wonder, who were the participants in this study? Although I’m about the furthest thing from an early adapter (contrary to most Gen Y’rs), even in my crowd (and keep in mind, I’m an older Gen Y’r) we hardly email. If I send a message through a social networking site (like Facebook), I’m about ten times more likely to get a response. Most of our impromptu communications happen via mass text. I do have some friends who just aren’t into the social networking thing, so we try to email, but we’re not very good at that. Texting or actually calling on the phone works better for us.
The only explanation I come up is instant messaging. IM didn’t receive its own category, so if the survey lumped it in with emailing, then the answer makes a bit more sense. We all keep in contact with our friends during the day through IM (or text), much more so than email.
Other interesting, but not necessarily head-scratching, study findings include:
- Average time spent on social networks per month is 33 hours, compared to 31 hours for email.
- On average, a Gen Y’r sends over 740 texts per month.
Click here to read more about the study.
Reader Feedback: Am I off-base here? Would you really give up Facebook & Twitter before email? And, if not, who are you emailing?
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Comments
Wow! 740 texts a month! When is there time to get a life?
it's got to be because messaging was lumped in there. Most of the Gey Y'ers I know don't use email at all.
Carlie, I would argue that if a Gen Yer is sending 740 texts a month, it is probably because they have a life. :)
Sharalyn, did they distinguish between using these things for work/school vs. personal interaction? Maybe I missed that above, apologies if I did. For me personally, I would not be able to realistically say that I could give up email for wk, bc of work. Socially, I wouldn't choose to give up facebook over email.
Great article!
@Megan The data was very vague and I couldn't get a good reading on that. I'm with you,I could never give up email for work, even for a week. I viewed it from a social standpoint, because the rest of the options were oriented it that way. But, there really wasn't any clear classification. Also, the time frame was to give it up for a week...would be interesting to see how the answers would have been impacted if it were longer. It's interesting for sure, but an excellent example of how these studies don't always tell the real story, especially for Gen Y. It can be slanted, argued, etc. just about any way you want.
And, @Carlie, I used to think the same way, but it's shocking how quickly a text here and there to make plans adds up! :)
These results don't surprise me. To me, Facebook is almost as annoying as it is helpful.
I would definitely keep email before anything else. With email I get as much text as I want, unlimited storage space, and attachments. In terms of actually communicating, text/social media can't beat it.
Sharalyn,
For the time being, email is still the "killer app". Social media networks are valuable, but we still live for one-to-one communication. That dialog is not efficient on social media in its current incarnation. (I am not addressing IM here.)
Social networking lets you share your thoughts and ideas broadly, casting a wide net. It is often about the perceived value to each of us in "being heard".
That's great, but it is shallow.
Why do we cast the wide net? We really want to make that connection that becomes intimate. Email is the form of electronic communication we use to establish connections on that level.
Which would you rather give up -
an entertaining distraction or meaningful dialog?
attention or intimacy?
When you start to develop a real relationship with someone you meet through social media, where do you want to continue the conversation, Twitter or email?
Which would I rather give up? For now anyway, its an easy choice.
Reg
I bet respondents lumped work email in here...
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