European integrated marketing and technology company, Amaze, has completed the first phase of its Amaze Generation project, a five-year study into today’s digital natives.
The agency, which specialises in digital strategy and communications, will closely follow a group of 10-15 year olds over the next five years to understand their digital selves and examine the way they interact with and are being shaped by technology.
The five-year study, which is the first of its kind, will follow how the Amaze Generation’s behaviour evolves over time through its interaction with digital technology, including use of the internet, social media, video games and mobile, and what effect this has on the way the group interacts socially and at school.
It also explores what the group deems socially acceptable in terms of the use of technology as a communications channel, as well as what role and priority technology plays in their lives. Trends will be identified over the next five years; however, some interesting insights are already emerging.
It is clear that Facebook and YouTube are the dominant social sites for this group; over half said that the first thing they do when they turn on the computer is log into Facebook and two thirds use YouTube regularly.
The Amaze Generation seems to have a strong moral compass, with the family pet rating highest on the list of what is most important to them, followed closely by their mobile phone. In terms of personal relationships, when it comes to what they perceive as right, more than two thirds think the best way to end a relationship is face-to-face and that it is wrong to do so on Facebook.
Natalie Gross, Managing Partner at Amaze, commented, “The results of the first wave of this study will give us the solid foundation on which we can gauge future change. The study will trigger statistical research from emerging behavioural trends, but most importantly, it’s an ethnographic study from which we can glean deep and genuine insights into the Amaze Generation, putting us a step ahead in creating the very best solutions for our clients.”
The full report, which includes the results from the first wave of interviews of this up close and personal journey with today’s generation of digital natives, is available to download at http://www.amaze.com/amazegeneration/.
www.amaze.com