In yesterday's Essentials, I mentioned the study on online tracking covered in the New York Times/CNET that concluded the majority of Americans said they objected to this practice. The Media Post, reg. required, covered the study today and added stats about how 18-24 year olds responded to this survey and lead with the popular notion that youth don't care about online privacy. From the article:

The study, which refers to "tailored" or targeting ads based on consumer online behavior, did not appeal to 66% of the 1,000 adult Internet respondents. The study's authors hired a survey company to interview the people. The 15- to-20-minute interviews included questions from: "Please tell me whether or not you want the Web sites you visit to give you discounts that are tailored to your interests," to: Would it be OK or not OK if these ads [discounts/news] were tailored for you based on following what you do OFFLINE — for example, in stores?"

Still, 55% of Americans ages 18 and 24 say no to tailored advertising, 37% say no to tailored discounts, and 54% reject tailored news. By contrast, among Americans age 65 and older the numbers are 82%, 70%, and 68% for ads, discounts, and news.

My take on this is that it's not "privacy" that's the issue for youth, it's control. Young people want to be in control of their data and who has access to it. Think back to when Facebook first introduced the newsfeed, then Beacon — part of the outrage from young people on the service stemmed from being opted in without their permission. Youth tend to feel they have less control over their lives than adults and being given a choice in any matter is a way to counteract these feelings of powerlessness. I think many young people would welcome more relevant advertising, couponing, etc. but only if they are given the option of opting out. I also think transparency is key in terms of marketers explaining how our data is being collected and used and by whom (which companies). The more "choice" and control young people are given, the more comfortable they will be with the potential for more relevant advertising online.

And for a more in-depth version of what I just wrote, check out Geek Dad's post on this where he also discusses how context is equally important for this generation of "digital natives."

Categorized under: Web, Youth Marketing

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. If you are a Facebook user, comment using your Facebook account.