Gen Z are the most likely to be influenced online compared to older generational counterparts

It’s a generational thing, according to an Adobe survey that tracked online influence amongst members of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers, and the younger the age group, the more susceptible a person is to be influenced online.

The survey, which tracked 1,200 UK consumers evenly distributed across all four generations, revealed that 43 percent of people believe Gen Z are the most likely to be influenced online, a noticeable increase when compared to the 17 percent of Baby Boomers.

Members of Gen Z alone echoed the survey’s results, claiming that 41 percent of their own generation are most likely to be influenced online.

The intangibles behind the data furthers the survey’s sentiment, as members of Gen Z tend to be, by and large, far more technically savvy than their older generational counterparts. 33 percent of the younger age group are said to take a more active role in configuring data preferences on their social media networks, like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Conversely, only 29 percent of the combined remaining generational age groups take such a similarly active role in configuring and personalizing their social media profiles.

The differences in social media application and use to not end there, however, with 69 percent of Gen Z members admitting they restrict access to their information to brands that do not deliver on the experiences expected compared to 52 percent of Baby Boomers.

In comparison, 21 percent of Gen Z members restrict the information they share with brands that similarly do not deliver on the experiences expected.

“As ‘Digital Natives’, Gen Z have developed relationships with brands from a very early age, meaning they’re much more familiar with data/experience value exchange,” Gavin Mee, vice president of Northern Europe at Adobe, told Mobile Marketing.

“But companies can’t take these relationships for granted – if a brand falls short of their high expectations, this data-savvy age group has no problem exercising choices and moving to a competitor that can deliver a personalized, relevant experience. Across all generations, and especially with older age groups, brands need to build trust by being open about how they use data, and clear about the added value it enables them to deliver.”

The study also revealed that 52 percent of Gen Z members engage with companies that place advertisements online, which is 22 percent more than the remaining three generational age groups who voted only 30 percent.

Gen Z also happen to be the most trusting of the four generational groups when it comes to the internet, with 28 of the youngsters believing online brands ‘do the right thing’ when it comes to their data, compared to just 17 percent of the far more internet-distrusting and cynical group of Baby Boomers.

Gen Z also place the highest value on exclusive experiences when compared to their older generational counterparts, with 28 percent willing to exchange their data to get such exclusive offerings.

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Meanwhile, a whopping 73 percent of Baby Boomers said they were willing to exchange their data for discounts or special offers, which was something Gen Z members did not prioritize nearly as much, with only 47 percent willing to do so.