1. TrendReport: Millennial Usage of
Mobile & Digital Technology
NOVEMBER 12, 2012
Kate Pawlicki, Pulp Lab @pulplab #TMRE
kate@pulplab.com
646-820-7857

2. TrendReport
Millennial Usage of Mobile & Digital Technology
Three Macro Trends
Alone Together
Isolation, Sharing, New “Hangouts”
Options (not “obligations”)
Micro-coordination, Anonymity
Confidence and Control
Consumption, Connection, Creation
Key Theme
“Use what is dominant in a culture to
change it quickly”
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3. USE WHAT IS DOMINANT IN A CULTURE TO CHANGE IT QUICKLY
“When the power goes out it's now normal to reach
first for a cell phone, not a candle, both for the light
and for the comfort of knowing you're not alone.”
— Joe Coscarell, New York Magazine, “Hurricane Sandy:
A Perfect Social Media Storm”
3 Source:: Image: BuzzFeed; Headline quote: Jenny Holzer, American Neo-Conceptualist artist; New York Magazine, 10/30/12

4. ALONE TOGETHER: ISOLATION
“We were kind of
“It was very “You had to make
sad when the lights
‘Downton Abbey’” plans and stick with
went on. It was
them… it felt so old-
really nice to be here
school, like we were
talking with people.”
back in 1998.”
The virtual campfire of social media counters the
isolation of being evacuated, quarantined, and cut
off from all transit by hosting a congregation of
common experience.
“My battery is dying and I
have no electricity. I guess
this is my last post. Over
and out."
— Facebook friend
4 Source:: Facebook; New York Times,; NYMag.com, 10/30/12

5. ALONE TOGETHER: ISOLATION
“It’s hard to know how to act
around people now because the
only thing kids know is how to act
on Facebook.”
— Phil Gibson, a sophomore at University of
San Francisco
Social media sites themselves may be
the biggest cause of loneliness
among young people today.
These kids have grown up barely
experiencing friendship without an
online component, and that element
actually detracts from rather than
supplements their real human
interaction.
The average teen has never met a quarter of
their Facebook friends.
Source:: Image: PulpLab.com; Guardian.co.uk, 10/23/12; Stephen Marche, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely”; Andy Braner. “Alone: Finding Connection in a Lonely World”
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6. ALONE TOGETHER: SHARING
Social Media has changed the way people communicate – and eat.
 47% of 18-32 year olds tweet or text during a meal
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6 Source:: Twitter.com; Gurumagazine.org, 8/3/12; Pew Research Center 2012

7. ALONE TOGETHER: SHARING
Mega-disaster of Hurricane Sandy = Mega-success for Social Media
The simultaneous rise and
ubiquity of Twitter, YouTube, and The YouTube
Instagram, along with the endless account
Citizen Tube
churn of the 24-hour news cycle has a playlist
of videos
— combined to create another aggregated
hybrid vortex in which the from an array
of sources
virtual community that track the
destruction in
experienced the storm Sandy's path.
both in seclusion and all
together.
We all watched through our
screens first, interacting all the
while, and out the window “Instacane.com”
second. follows hashtags
from Instagram
users experiencing
Hurricane Sandy.
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8. ALONE TOGETHER: INSTAGRAM’S “COMING OF AGE"
Instagram recently set a record for most-photographed event with Hurricane
Sandy with 1.3 million pictures posted. The mix of mobile entertainment and
utility makes Instagram such a social force for major events–both celebrations
and emergencies. It’s a visual Twitter.
#Frankenstorm
#Sandy
Time Magazine used Instagram Instagram's chief executive officer Kevin Systrom told the Associated Press that
as the primary outlet for breaking about 10 pictures per second were being uploaded to Instagram with the
news coverage on Sandy, stating hashtag #sandy.
“It was about how quickly can we
get pictures to our readers.”
8 Source:: Mashaable,11/5/2012; Forbes,, “Why Time Magazine Used Instagram to Cover Hurricane Sandy” 11/01/2012

9. ALONE TOGETHER: DIGITAL SLANG
The Hashtag is the new URL.
 Popularized on Twitter as a way for
users to organize and search
messages. But has become a new You’re just as likely to see a hashtag as a URL
cultural shorthand. on screen at the end of a movie trailer.
 The hashtag can be a joke about
itself, as when the HBO’s Lena
Dunham tweets, “What’s my place in it
all? #questionsevenmymomcantanswer”
It’s a metajoke about metadata.
 “Hashtag rap” appears in many
incarnations, but there are three
main ingredients: a metaphor, a
pause, and a one-word punch line,
often placed at the end of a rhyme. “
“Swimming in the money, come and
DOOM album Twitter username or a hashtag version of names for easy
find me - Nemo" searching on Twitter.
9 Source:: “A Brief History of Hashtag Rap”. Houston Press, 2011; Julia Turner, NYT Magazine, November 2, 2012

10. ALONE TOGETHER: DIGITAL SLANG
Internet culture is currently a subset, but as it grows it will be indistinguishable from popular culture.
“Sup” “HMU LTR” “Whr R U
@? ”
“KK”
LOLwork on Bravo goes deep into the headquarters of
I Can Has Cheezburger? and tracks the lives of the people
behind the site, which aims to make the “world laugh for five
minutes a day.”
10 Source:: noslang.com; Wired.com ; Bravo

11. ALONE TOGETHER: NEW “HANGOUTS”
HeTexted.com, a free insta-therapy
website, where users upload their
misunderstood text conversations and
receive immediate feedback and critique
of their relationships and/or hookups.
Based on what is displayed, the panel can vote from three
choices -- "He's Into You," "He's Not Into You," "Verdict is Still
Out" -- thus making a quick diagnosis on the state of The
Confused's relationship. Additionally, the panel can post
comments below the uploaded text messages, and you can ask
the site's Bros -- Mason, Ben, Tim, Chris, Brian -- for advice.
11 Source:: hextexted.com; HoustonPress

12. ALONE TOGETHER: NEW “HANGOUTS”
Social Media Explained (with Donuts)
12 Source:: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fncll/6847365223/

13. OPTIONS (NOT OBLIGATIONS): ANONYMITY
Millennials are healthily blasé and selective about tech, and hyper-aware about their online
activities and privacy.
 Millennials trust anonymous consumers.
44% of Millennials are more likely to trust
experienced consumers (who happen to be
The beauty of Facebook, the strangers).
source of its power, is that it
enables us to be social while  51% of Millennials say consumer opinions found on
sparing us the embarrassing a company’s website have a greater impact on
reality of society. . .” purchase decisions than recommendations from
family and friends.
— Stephen Marche, The Atlantic, “Is Facebook
Making Us Lonely?”  Millennials are 3x as likely to turn to social to get
opinions on products to buy. They’re on the hunt
for feedback from experts and people with
common interests – not just personal connections.
 For a brand, that means creating engaging content
for Millennials to consume and share with friends;
offering ways for them to share their opinions on
your brand; and making it easy for them to find
"expert" opinions on your products.
Facebook backlash
13 Source:: The Atlantic; Kelton Research 2011

14. OPTIONS (NOT OBLIGATIONS): MICRO-COORDINATION
The nuance of social etiquette has been influenced by mobile phones – it is now easier
to make and break plans.
 “sry gotta bail  75% of Millennials have their mobile
mayb nxt tme” device glued to their hand as a personal
assistant
 Ability to change plans or fluidly
manage plans
 Don’t have to pick a place or time in
advance – it all happens in real-time.
o For brands: Geo-targeting your
mobile message is an imperative.
 60% of Millennial women now spend more
than an hour of their leisure time on their
mobile device daily.
14 Source:: http://www.mediapost.com June 2012; Caroline Tell, The New York Times, 10/26/12

15. CONFIDENCE AND CONTROL: CONSUMPTION
Shoppers between 18 to 29 years old are the
fastest-growing luxury consumer segment. In
2011, they spent 31% more on luxury purchases
than they did the year before, and they did it at
full price.
 Millennials scrutinize brands and offer allegiance
only to those whose premium price-points are
justified.
Despite the fact that those ages 18 to 29 have a high
unemployment rate, at 12.4%, and those with
 They see luxury value as a derivative of how many college degrees are the most indebted graduates in
people want something, whether they can afford history, Millennials are positive about the economy
it or not. (i.e. “inclusive exclusivity”) and their futures. 88% of those ages 18 to 34 say
they either earn enough money now or expect they
 They demand to know the origin of luxury will in the future.
products — where was it made, how, and by
whom? Superior quality, craftsmanship, and
design are the top three attributes that define
luxury to Millennials.
15 Source:: Mashable.com “How Luxury Brands Can Prepare for Affluent Millennials” April 2012; Pew Research Center "Young, Underemployed and Optimistic“ February 2012

16. CONFIDENCE AND CONTROL: CONNECTION
More than any previous generation, Millennials are:
 More likely to have friends, colleagues
and connections around the world.
 Less likely to be defined by their
ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic
status.
 Less likely to blindly accept the
information provided by any single
source.
 More likely to consult multiple sources of
information when making decisions.
o Switch media 27 times/HOUR
o Take devices room to room at home
o Can pick up a story at various
points, with different media
o Prefer texting to talking
 Use media to regulate mood
16 Source:: Image: Pulplab.om; Digital Natives: , Time, Inc. 2012 http://www.timeinc.com/pressroom/detail.php?id=releases/time_inc_study_digital_natives.php

17. CONFIDENCE AND CONTROL: CREATION
Mobile apps and content creation
Taken By Trees recently premiered a
music video for her track "Large."
Directed by Ariel Rechtshaid, the clip
was shot entirely on an iPad in Los
Angeles (even going to far as to use an
app called "Action Movie FX" to blow
up Bergsman in an explosion.
Micro-Video production // Instagram-like Mobile App “Viddy”
Taken By Trees - “Large” Video
Filmed Entirely on an iPad
17 Source:: Under the Radar, Oct 8, 2012; Hypebeast 10/12

18. CONFIDENCE AND CONTROL: CREATION
Masters of customization and self-
expression, this generation has taken
the indie and do-it-yourself (DIY)
movements and run with them.
“I Still Love New York” Sandy Relief T-shirt
are being sold for $40 each with all of the profit
from sales going to Sandy relief programs. And
hundreds are still scooping them up like
auctioned art in a social-media-fueled frenzy.
“In this very retail-driven
city, shopping reinforces a
sense of community. It puts
people in very good spirits
because they’ve got some
sensory contact again.”
18 Source:: New York Times, November 5, 2012; https://www.shopgreyarea.com/products/406-i-still-love-ny-hurricane-sandy-relief-t-shirt

19. Thank
you!
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info@pulplab.com
646-820-7857
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