Young people are often characterized as anti-social and too reliant on technology, but Generation Z might just prove us all wrong.
In fact, according to a new study by Seattle-based mobile advertising analytics firm Marchex, the whippersnappers of Gen Z use their smartphones to actually call people more than any other demographic, including baby boomers, Generation X-ers, and millennials.
The notion of short attention spans, however, rings true: Gen Z-ers are 60 per cent more likely than the average consumer to hang up if businesses don’t answer quickly, and 30 per cent more likely to curse at customer service reps than any other group.
Marchex, which examined anonymous data from more than 2.3 million consumer phone calls to businesses in 2016 to analyze the behavioural patterns of Gen Z’s adult consumers, found that “our youngest adults communicate more casually, make faster purchasing decisions, and demand top-tier customer service,” Marchex analytics manager Sabrina Gravlee wrote in a Dec. 15 blog post.
Further dispelling the anti-social stereotype is the fact that Gen Zers are more likely to call businesses because “they desire a real-time, authentic connection”, Gravlee writes, despite having a variety of other options to connect with businesses, including text messages, social media, and email.
It’s also interesting to note that Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with cellular technology and the Internet already fully established and popularized; as a result, they can toggle between different devices, screens and apps at breathtaking speed, Gravle explains, noting that Marchex’s data suggests that businesses need to keep up with the multitasking abilities of the world’s youngest consumers.
The company released an infographic to go with the study, which you can check out below.
